25 Important Questions To Ask Before Setting Goals for 2025
The new year is a time for a fresh start and new opportunity. With the excitement and feeling of a new chapter, it’s a great time for reflection and goal setting. Today we are talking specifically about setting goals for 2025!
Although the feeling of the first week of a new year feels exciting, that excitement starts to wear off as the month of January continues and we realize we have to stick to the goals we made.
By February, most people have slowed down on working towards their new year’s resolutions and come March, it seems everyone has forgotten their goals altogether.
It’s crazy how goals can sound so appealing, exciting, and downright easy when you set them, but when it comes time to keep up that momentum, it’s suddenly gone…
This year, we break the cycle of setting goals and quitting them before real change can happen.
Whether you are setting life goals for 2025, work goals for 2025, or personal goals for 2025, I have a simple formula you can follow to help make sure you stay on track working towards your goals for 2025!
The formula I have revolves on asking questions before setting goals for 2025.
By asking important self-reflection questions before jumping into goal setting, we are able to create goals that are truly aligned with our values, faith, and aspirations – rather than goals that just sound nice.
Think back to the end of 2023, when you were planning your goals for 2024. How did you make those goals? Did you base them off something that sounded fun? Or maybe off a business idea that sounded easy?
Setting goals that aren’t aligned with your values is a great way to claim defeat before 2025 even starts.
This year we are going to focus on setting meaningful goals that actually keep us excited to see the outcome!
I’ve broken this post into 5 sections to make the questions easier to answer: Reflecting on 2024, Clarifying Values and Priorities, Setting Goals that Inspire and Challenge, Addressing Obstacles and Areas of Growth, and Creating the Vision for 2025..
If you need a little extra help with reflection, check out our posts:
- 109 Journaling Prompts To Add To Your Morning Routine
- 7 Powerful Bible Verses for Strength and Encouragement
I’m so excited to share this formula with you! These questions are designed to help you make new year’s resolutions and actually stick to them!
This post is all about questions to ask before setting goals for 2025!
25 Questions to Ask Before Setting Goals for 2025
Section 1: Reflecting on 2024
These questions are designed help you look back before it’s time to move forward. If it helps, feel free to think back to 2023 or 2022 as well.
Give yourself time to look back and understand what went right and what went wrong in previous years.
True change comes from reflection on the good and the bad. It’s like asking yourself what to keep and what to throw out… but with more detail!
Here are 5 questions to ask yourself when reflecting on 2024 before setting goals for 2025.
- What were my three biggest accomplishments in 2024?
- What’s one challenge I overcame, and what did it teach me?
- What are the habits or routines that worked really well for me?
- Which habits held me back, and how did they hold me back?
- What relationships had the most impact (positive and negative) on my life in 2024?
Reflecting on the past helps you acknowledge growth and identify areas for improvement as you set goals for 2025.
Section 2: Clarifying Values and Priorities
Like I mentioned above, clarifying your values and priorities helps you create goals that align with what truly matters to you.
You can spend 5 minutes setting goals for 2025 by googling “goals to set for 2025” but those goals aren’t tailored to you – and that’s the problem.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to clarify your priorities and values to ensure you are creating goals that are meaningful to you!
- What three core values do I want my goals to reflect in 2025?
- In what areas of my life do I feel called to grow spiritually, emotionally, or physically?
- Who are the most important people in my life, and how can I prioritize them better?
- What does living a balanced, intentional, fulfilling life look like to me?
- How can I incorporate faith and gratitude into my daily routine?
Understanding your priorities will help ensure your goals for 2025 align with your purpose and God’s plan for your life.
Section 3: Setting Goals That Inspire and Challenge
There is a balance that needs to be had here, while the goal needs to inspire you, it also needs to challenge you.
I worked for a company that was utterly terrible at goal setting. They’d set goals that were nearly impossible for employees to hit and in return led to employee resentment, burnout, and a downward trend in the company’s progress.
The goals they made were solely based on desire for income and prosperity… not realistic expectations and possibility.
Now, I am all for doing the impossible and reaching for the stars but the balance of inspiration and challenge will be the determining factor in you hitting the goals you set or failing to reach them.
What we want to be realistic about here is understanding that big goals aren’t built in a day and we need to be realistic about what resources, current commitments, and skills we currently have.
Let’s take time to answer these next 5 questions to ensure we don’t set ourselves up for failure in 2025.
- What are five specific goals I feel excited to pursue in 2025?
- Are these goals realistic, given my current commitments and resources?
- How will I measure progress for each of these goals?
- What is one big dream I’ve been putting off that I’d like to start working toward?
- Am I setting these goals for myself, or am I influenced by others’ expectations or money/greed?
Setting clear, measurable, and inspiring goals can give you direction and a sense of purpose for the year ahead!
Section 4: Addressing Obstacles and Areas of Growth
This section pairs beautifully with section 3 because here we address what could possibly hold us back from reaching the goals we set for 2025.
It’s important to look at potential setbacks or areas we need to grow in because addressing these obstacles sooner can give you the edge you need to make forward progress.
When you answer these questions, I want you to challenge yourself to not take a positive spin on these.
Answer the questions for what they are and don’t try to address the obstacle right away.
Sit in this moment of reflection as you answer these questions in section 4.
- What fears or doubts could hold me back from pursuing my goals for 2025?
- How can I address these fears with prayer, preparation, and action?
- What new habits or skills do I need to develop to achieve my goals?
- Who can I turn to for support, encouragement, and accountability?
- What are my biggest distractions, and how can I minimize them?
Identifying challenges early helps you create strategies to stay on track and persevere through the tough times because you know what to expect!
Section 5: Creating a Vision for 2025
Now we are getting into the fun part… putting the vision together!
Creating a vision for 2025 and visualizing who you want to become and what you want to accomplish is a big step in creating goals for 2025.
You’re looking for the warm feeling you get when you think of a great idea.
- What kind of person do I want to become by the end of 2025?
- How will achieving my goals positively impact my family, relationships, and faith journey?
- In what ways can I honor God through my goals for 2025?
- What legacy or example do I want to set for those around me?
- If I had no limitations, what would I pursue in 2025?
These final questions are meant to encourage you to dream boldly and connect their goals with our greater purpose- glorifying God.
I hope this post helped you see the importance of asking questions before setting goals for 2025.
Remember to take time to reflect, pray, and journal your answers before you create the goals you want to set.
Goal-setting is all about making progress, not being perfect. 2025 is a journey for you in life, not a destination. Focus on taking steps to be a little better than last year and keep building on that.
Share one goal or reflection you had in the comments!
