With a new year comes new desires, new dreams; one considers achieving those things that he could not achieve the previous year. And so it is very common for us to set goals in different areas of life: work, health, emotional, social Kambo.
This is all very well and necessary, because a ship that has no direction will always be adrift, and then will run the risk of sinking for being adrift for so long.
However, today I want to share with you tips for “spiritual life goals”, those that have to do with our relationship with God, with the One who has loved us to the extreme. Let us remember that, when talking about goals in life, the main one is Heaven: where our hearts will rest, resting in the will of God.
So, this year we must start with all our will, with great courage, but mainly abandoned in the Divine Will, trusting in the Mercy of God.
Since Jesus himself teaches us in the Gospel that “everything else will come in addition”, I can assure you that by ordering your relationship with God you will be able to order all the other aspects of your life.
- Work on a virtue
It is very important that we fight to strengthen ourselves in virtue. Definitely, our life would be better if we practiced patience, temperance, and diligence. And believe me when I tell you it is possible for us to achieve a virtue!
Just as we are taught that an action becomes a habit if you repeat it for 21 days, so you can also cultivate a virtue.
A very important key when cultivating a virtue is to propose in the short term to work on one specific one at a time. Remember “he who encompasses much, presses little.”
Once you have cultivated one virtue, you can focus on another. You will see how they will help you make all aspects of your life more bearable.
For example, just imagine that your work can be more bearable if you aim to cultivate more the virtue of patience, so you can combat those attacks of anger that make you explode against those who work with you.
- Take care of communication with God
As I said at the beginning, I imagine that at this point in the first month of the year many already have a list of purposes and goals in their personal lives that include travel, the gym, etc. or work or financial objectives… but where is God? We cannot let go of our relationship with God!
Don’t worry. When I mention the importance of praying, don’t think that I will tell you that you have to spend 8 hours in Church praying or your life will have no meaning. Of course not.
But I do allow myself to tell you that you must dedicate spaces for prayer in your daily life. A mistake that we can make regarding prayer is that we usually give it the time we have left over, which means that, if at any time something unforeseen arises, the first thing that ends up being sacrificed is prayer.
Make a space of 10 minutes when you get up and 10 minutes before going to sleep to dialogue with the Lord.
If perhaps you find it difficult to pray, I recommend that during this time you meditate on the Gospels – what better way than for Jesus himself to guide your prayer -.
You can also put on your list of purposes to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at least once a week, you will see how your heart will be a heart that longs for the will of the good God.
- Consider a spiritual retreat
Do not think that this article is an advertising spot for Catholic communities that teach spiritual retreats. However, I would like to tell you that a spiritual retreat can be ideal , especially at the beginning of a year, to be able to look inside yourself and examine what you need to improve and what you need to work on.
The soul also needs spaces of silence and reflection, to be in contact with its Creator. Every soul needs to heal and let itself be loved by Him.
As I just mentioned, when talking about spiritual retreats I am not only referring to those offered by certain communities – although these retreats are very good and recommended, it may be that due to time or resources you cannot do them -. You can always experience a spiritual retreat on your own. Of course, if you decide to do it on your own, make sure that you will be able to collect yourself and that you will not be distracted.
You can go to a sanctuary or an adoration chapel and, for 3 or 4 hours, put your cell phone aside, go with a spiritual book and have this moment of getting away from the noise of the world. It is very possible and necessary for silence to reign in our soul.
I confess that the issue of silence has always been difficult for me; However, how profitable it is for the soul to live that moment! Because in silence the Lord speaks very clearly.
- Take care of the order and planning of your time
Do organization and productivity have to do with the spiritual? Our daily lives must go hand in hand with God. Saint Josemaría said that we must make “the ordinary as something extraordinary.” Therein lies the secret of the Christian: in doing each thing – studies, work, chores, etc. -with our gaze fixed on the Lord.
We must ensure that God’s presence is felt throughout our day. And in this sense Saint Augustine always reminds us “take care of order and order will take care of you.”
In this context, technology has advanced and provides us with very useful and practical tools for time management: agendas on cell phones, to-do lists… are the tools that will help us have a clear order of all our activities.
It is also highly recommended to use digital well-being applications that control your time on social networks. Imagine how we would grow in skills and virtue if we spent more time reading or watching a training talk than browsing social networks. It’s all a matter of organizing ourselves and seeking to ensure that in everything we do we can find the good aroma of Our Lord.
You will notice that, by ordering all your activities, you will be able to find the presence of God in everything you do.
A very useful resource that I can suggest is to download our free guide “ Guide to building your 2023 with purpose and clear goals ”. It will help you outline your goals (both personal and spiritual) and meditate on how to achieve them. And if you still want to delve deeper into organization and productivity – and how they relate to your life purpose – you can watch our online course “ Blessed Productivity: Organize your time and cultivate positive habits for a more balanced life .”
- Go to the Virgin Mary to cover you with her mantle
Devotion to Mary is one of the sweetest things you can adopt in this new year. There is nothing better than having this sweet Mother as a guide and intercessor. Who better than this creature who found grace in the eyes of God to guide your steps and your walk in this new year!
You can propose to pray the rosary, because the rosary draws graces from Heaven; have details of love with our Mother in Heaven ; propose to visit a Marian Sanctuary in your city…
This, I assure you, will help increase the sweet devotion to Mary in your heart. And who better than this sweet Mother to accompany you and bring you to Jesus every day!
Remember: step by step, you reach the goal
In life – also spiritual, of course – we set many goals. We propose several purposes, many of them are achieved, others are half fulfilled and perhaps some do not come to fruition.
For this it is necessary that we educate our will. That we put it above our feelings or our emotions. A feeling exists today, but tomorrow it can disappear, and this is what causes the purposes to be diluted and not fulfilled.
The exercise of will is an everyday thing and should not be just for a moment or a week, it should be something constant.
A mistake we could make is to set large-scale goals. You can also apply this in your spiritual life: set achievable goals. For example, you cannot consider running a marathon if you have never run; You should start running short distances and, as you progress… you increase more.