Preparing To Begin Again
“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blue print, and begin to build.” ~ Robert Collier
We are preparing to close off the Christmas Octave. For that matter, we are also closing off the calendar year. Tonight is New Year’s Eve. You know what that means: parties, fireworks, and resolutions. The parties and fireworks often last longer than the resolutions.
Why is that? I think a few things come into play when answering that question: desire, motivation, and realistic expectations. Before anything else, people have to have a desire to change when they make their resolutions. Their desire will drive their willingness and stick-to-itivness. If there is no desire, if they are making resolutions because someone is chiding them to do so, the resolutions will not last.
Beside desire, there has to be some motivation to do something. I often think of weight loss resolutions in regard to motivation. If someone has the desire to lose weight and their motive is for better health or, perhaps, to look better for an upcoming reunion, wedding, or the like, there will be a much better chance that the person will remain on a weight-loss regimen.
Finally, the resolution must be realistic. Turning again to the example of weight loss, a person should not make a resolution to lose two hundred pounds. That is not going to work. If they need to lose that much, it would still be better to set a goal of fifty pounds. When that goal is reached, they can then add a second, third, and fourth goal. Realistic goals will lead to successful resolutions.
Most resolutions deal with physical attributes or relationships. What about you? What spiritual resolutions do you need to make for yourself? What can you resolve that will help you to draw closer to God in the upcoming year?
Make sure that your resolution is specific and realistic. And, most of all, make a spiritual resolution because you desire to do it, not because you think I am expecting you to do so. It’s got to come from you or it will not last.
God’s blessings to you and yours as we approach a New Year.
FAITH ACTION: Think long and hard about what changes you need to make in your life in the New Year and then craft one or two reasonable goals.