This new year like many years before offers us this wonderful opportunity to cleanse our minds, hearts and souls with a new fresh perspective. Here are a few thoughts to consider in that endeavor.
When it comes to New Year resolutions, I have found many of us make them and most of us break them, often within the first week. I guess it is the thought that counts!
Why do you think, so many break their own resolutions?
I wonder if our expectations are unrealistic. We apparently want to change or else we would not have made the resolution, which leads me to think our expectations are not grounded in reality. We think lasting change happens overnight. A habit that has been with us for years is somehow going to disappear in three days or so. That might be a bit unrealistic.
It has been said that we often expect too much in one year and not enough in five. So, to all who have made a New Year resolution and to those who have already broken it, I have a few suggestions.
Relax, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Cleanse yourself and begin again. This is the beauty of a new year. It allows you to put aside those things that tripped you up last year. Do this through confession. Which is nothing more than telling God what He already knows. Confess your sins, your weaknesses, your dreams and ambitions. Start off by talking honestly and openly to God. Become friends.
Prepare yourself for the changes. Integrate your resolutions into your schedule. If you want to lose weight and your treadmill is downstairs in the basement, bring it upstairs and put it in your family room. Make it a part of your life.
Allow yourself to fail, just don't live in failure.
Remember, 'All things are possible through God, who is our strength'. Just think in five years you could lose those fifty pounds...that's just ten pounds a year and less than a pound a month. Now that sounds possible. The Lord is good.
Blessings, PD