4-Fold Goals for the New Year

‘Tis the season for setting goals and (hopefully) (maybe this year??) following through with them! A New Year is a fresh start, a chance to make small changes that reap great rewards, to get a little closer to the person you want to be when you’re eighty. Who doesn’t get a little excited about the prospect?

Which all means that it is the perfect time to give yourself a little Breakfast Club pep talk and set some goals. Needing some inspiration? Here comes the 4 fold way to the rescue - our camp framework for ensuring you’re growing like Jesus did in Luke 2:52. Scroll on for some ideas to get you started, but feel free to get creative - we can’t wait to see which goals you go after!

Spiritual

• Commit to reading a little bit of the Bible every day. Jimboy recommends it every summer for good reason - it’s easy and transformative. Just try it and see what happens! There are lots of great resources out there to help you with your reading, but we love The Bible App, She Reads Truth, and The Bible Recap Podcast where you can listen to the whole Bible in a year.
• Read through a devotion book with your cabin. Use that group text to talk about the devotion of the day, or just read our Daily Devotions together.
• Start your day with worship music. Make the first thing you hear in the morning something encouraging and truthful. Need somewhere to start? Try out our Worship or Morning Assembly playlists on Spotify.
• Make prayer a part of your day. We do prayer partners with our Head Staff team during the year, and it’s been the most encouraging thing. Text prayer requests with your cabin, or set a routine of praying while you brush your teeth or during your morning run.

Social

• More face to face, less screens. Can we just get an amen for this? Technology has brought a lot of good, but it also means we spend more time posting than actually connecting. Make a pact with your school friends to put your phones away when you’re together, or to actually get on the phone with your camp friends instead of just texting. See what DMCs happen!
• Meet a new person every week. We do it at camp, so why not bring it home with you? Whether it’s your mailman, or that girl at school you’ve never talked to, challenge yourself to smile and reach out. See what good comes from it!
• Send actual snail mail. Step away from the phone and write a letter. Sounds crazy, right? But there’s nothing like a card or hand written note to make a friend feel special. Try sending a birthday card to your counselor, or writting your camp bestie a letter to tell her how much you love her.
• Resolve to be the kind of friend you want to have. In general, we could all spend a lot less time thinking about ourselves and focussing on others! This year, instead of holding your friends up to a too-high standard, try reflecting on what YOU want in a friend, and being that person. You can start a change in your group!

Mental

• Put your phone in a different room while you sleep. Hear us out on this one! If your phone is just a reach away (or even in your bed with you - we know how many of you do that!), the first and last thing you do every day is scroll. So get an alarm clock, plug in your phone in the kitchen, and try reading before bed. You’re going to sleep more and start your day in a better place, we promise!
• Bring that great day attitude home. It’s easy to be positive at camp, but in the real world we can get caught in a cycle of complaints. Challenge your friends or family to look on the brightside. First person to complain has to do the dishes!
• Learn something new every day. One of Jimboy’s favorites! There are so many fun facts out there to learn! Get a new word in your inbox every day, try Duolingo? for a language you want to learn, or up your trivia skills with the Curiosity App.
• Put down the phone, pick up a book. We’re big readers here, so we’re biased, but we could all stand to read a little more! Use Goodreads to track your faves and set a reading goal, try out Libby to get ebooks and audiobooks from the library, or just download the Kindle app or Apple Books to always have a book on hand to flip instead of scrolling.

Physical

• Sleep more! We don’t want to sound like your mom, but you know it’s true. If you’re finding yourself emotional, snippy, or easily frustrated, you need more sleep. Netflix can wait - try to move that bedtime up by 10 minutes a week, and see where it gets you.
• Find a way to move that you love. At camp it’s easy to get your exercise, and it’s fun! Running may not be your thing, but what about a Zumba class? Maybe you hate basketball, but you love walking the dog. With all the options out there now (apps! classes! team sports!) there’s something you will love - now go out and find it. Taking care of yourself shouldn’t feel like a slog!
• Make this the year you stop critiquing your body. Seriously, it’s possible! Reframe your thoughts to what your body can do instead of what it looks like. Each one of you are beautifully and wonderfully, intentionally made. Tell yourself it over and over until you believe it, and start noticing all the amazing ways your body works, and the things it can take you to do.
• Drink more water. You knew we were going to go here, didn’t you? Use that camp waterbottle in your daily life, and try out a water tracker app like WaterLama to motivate yourself. Just trust.