This week, I’ve been conducting my vision audit. I have a love-hate relationship with this annual exercise. Let me explain. I love the reality that a new year means a new beginning, but I hate realizing that another year has ended. I love to think and dream about the possibilities of the future, but I hate to see where my past dreams have come up short.

I typically break down my “vision audit” into 5 categories: personal/spiritual, family, physical, financial, and professional. These represent the major areas of my life that I am responsible to faithfully manage and that I will one day be expected to give account of to God. And these are areas I feel inspired to improve and with which I desire to honor God.

I’ve learned that the wrong question to ask is, “How can I grow or improve this year?” The better question is, “What is preventing me from growing and improving?” My “vision audit” always brings me back to “center” and forces me to move intentionally through these four stages:

Stage #1: Honest Assessment – Where have I succeeded? Where have I failed? What prevented me from achieving my dreams/goals this past year? What are my greatest fears moving into the New Year?

Stage #2: Goal Setting -What should be my highest priorities this year? Do these ambitions line-up with God’s priorities? Am I dreaming Gil-sized or God-sized dreams? Do they require faith?

Stage #3: Defining Wins – How will I know if I’ve accomplished my goals? More importantly, how will others know if I’ve accomplished my goals (i.e. are they missional in nature)? Most importantly, will God be glorified through these goals? If so, how; if not, why?

Stage #4: Evaluation – Are these goals measurable, i.e. how will I measure success and/or failure? When and how will I perform self-evaluations to see how I’m doing? Who will keep me accountable? Is there a “safe-fail” mechanism in place to keep me from undue condemnation?

2012 is a leap year, so there are 366 days, 8,784 hours, 527,000 minutes, and nearly 32 million seconds awaiting you. As you prepare to “bring in” the New Year, don’t forget to spend some time checking up on your personal well-being – spiritually, physically, financially, and professionally. You’ll grow because of it, those around you will celebrate it, and God will bless you through it!

Make it a great New Year!