I have one resolution that I’d like to make sure I keep. I’ve resolved to spending a little time each day with God’s Word. I would like to devote at least 5 minutes every single day to meditating on scripture and application to my life. I have a couple devotionals that I’ve set on my desk to remind me to open them up and read each morning. This is a small goal that isn’t too overwhelming and I think will make a world of difference in my daily life. If I do it every day, I can make it a habit.
Other than that, I have been trying to decide how to approach resolutions this year. I know most people make grand plans for how to spend the next year and by the middle of January, many of those goals have fallen by the wayside. I’m usually the same way. I know everyone is different and ever year has different circumstances so there are many reasons for resolutions to not work, but I have been giving some thought about how to approach this year.
There are a lot of jokes about how the gym gets really packed at the beginning of the year because everyone wants to lose weight or get in shape. People jump in with both feet and are ready to go but then life happens and they don’t end up sticking with it and by the end of the year, they are ready to make the same resolutions. It’s like a vicious circle. I have a couple theories about this.
One, people set broad, open-ended goals (i.e. I want to get in shape, lose weight, be healthier, spend less, etc.) and those are extremely hard to keep because they are not concrete. What really constitutes being healthier or spending “less”? When there is nothing to really track, it’s hard to stick with it.
Two, people set unrealistic goals for themselves and then they get discouraged and abandon the goals. When you start the year saying, “I’m going to lose 25 lbs this year” or “I’m going to work out 5 days a week” when you don’t even work out one day a week, they are big goals that are hard to attain. Sometimes doing this is motivational. One year, I said I wanted to pay off at least $11,000 in student loans that year. I put that goal up on my fridge and saw it every single day. I also achieved that goal, but it was HARD. REALLY hard. And, the only reason I was able to do so is because I had gotten a new job with a significant pay increase and took all of my extra money and put it into my loans. Under normal circumstances, I would never have been able to follow through with that goal. Normally, huge goals all at once can be our downfall.
This year, I have decided that I’m going to take little steps toward my long-term goals. By the end of next year, I’d like to reflect on how things went and say that I am honestly closer with the Lord and have learned to incorporate His Word into my daily life. I’d also like to make some other lifestyle changes to make myself feel happier and healthier. In order to do that, I’m going to try to incorporate small changes over time.
I *do* want to eat less sugar and lose the 10 lbs I have gained since starting my new job last summer and eat healthier and stop eating out of boredom and stress less and make more time for myself, etc. HOWEVER, I can’t look at it that way because that is not attainable all at once. Instead, I am going to try to make some small lifestyle changes a little at a time. Instead of doing it all at once, I am going to work on one small goal and learn to make that a habit. Once I do that and it is no longer a big effort to incorporate it, I will move on to the next. I’m hoping this outlook will help me achieve my 2016 goals for myself. Let’s see how that works for me :)