So here we are. It is the last day of the first month of another new year. Every commercial, internet, newspaper and magazine article is evolved around how to achieve those resolutions we made for ourselves. Making resolutions, everyone I know has a love/hate relationship with them.
Recently I read an interesting fact that every year millions of people make resolutions for the new year but only ten percent manage to actually achieve them and by July most of them have been forgotten and no progress has been made. Ten percent! I wish I could say that every year since I started making resolutions that I made the ‘ten percent’ category but I cannot.
Why do we bother with making resolutions? I can only answer for myself. I feel like there is always something new to learn, a better way of doing things in my life that will result in personal growth emotionally, physically and most importantly spiritually which will result in becoming a more productive person. When I do this I see so much more positive in my life. I find myself accomplishing things that make a difference.
How do I achieve this? I have learned over the years (learning is one of the positive things of aging!) to be realistic in the goals I set for myself. If I set unrealistic goals, I will fail and then just take the path of least resistance which is to convince myself that it does not matter. So the key is to be realistic. Of course challenge must be involved that is what makes it so exciting, however be realistic in what is even attainable for where I am at in life. What was unrealistic for me to accomplish as a 30 year old mother of two toddlers and a new born is now much more realistic as a 50 year old mother of grown children. I have also learned that the list does not have to be long. I have found that changing or improving upon one thing in my life can be the stepping stone that leads to other positive changes that will come naturally because of that one act.
So to whoever is reading this today and possibly struggling with resolutions or change of daily habit that will bring more excellence in your life, ask God for direction and believe what you ask for. He is your creator who loves you and is just waiting to meet the desire of your heart. That is faith.
I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve tried, but I tend to fall in with the 90% who fail. And, it’s usually by January 2nd that I’ve failed at my resolution and decide to pitch it and just claim failure. I’m okay without New Year’s Resolutions.
I do set goals. Maybe it’s because they come without the negative stigma of a New Year’s Resolution, but I tend to do better with a goal. It’s a mind game, but I like that I can set a goal any time of the year. Plus, I feel like if I drop the ball on Tuesday, I can just pick it up again on Wednesday!
My goal this year is to have some routines. I have heard that it takes 21 days to make something part of your routine. That’s 3 weeks. The sad thing is that it only takes 3 days of not doing this activity to get out of the routine…
Early last year my goal was to read my Bible consistently, every single day. Our church was kicking off a program where we would read 3 chapters a day, and my husband and I were going to be leading a discussion group starting in the summer. I liked this goal for several reasons:
1. It was realistic and attainable. I knew that I could sit down for 20 – 30 minutes every day. I would love to sit for hours and read and study my Bible, but that was not my reality, and it would have been very difficult.
2. I was being held accountable. My husband had committed to the same reading program, so I knew that he would be checking up on me, and vice-versa. Plus, it was fun to have conversations about what we were reading.
3. I had a purpose. I knew that in a few months, my husband and I would be leading a group and expecting the attendees to have read their Bibles. It would not look good if one of the leaders was not practicing what she preached.
So, there it is. I will be working on my daily routines, one at a time, by setting my goals according to these three guidelines. These may or may not work for you, but I’m working my best to make them work for me.
And remember; don’t get discouraged if you miss a day. LIFE HAPPENS!!! Forget about Thursday and recommit yourself on Friday!
