New Year’s Revolution

Posted on January 4, 2010 12:00 AM MST by Sara Richardson

I’ve never cared much for New Year’s resolutions. See, the problem with a resolution is that it’s simply a statement. Sort of a promise that you make to yourself. The dictionary defines a resolution as “the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure.” The problem with that is, most of us are so busy fulfilling promises to other people, or taking care of other people, that we tend to break the promises we make to ourselves. So when I say, “This year, I’ll resolve to lose ten pounds” or “I’ll resolve to stop eating M&M’s before bed” (not that I do that), we are making ourselves a promise that is too easy to break. 

The last couple of years I’ve boycotted New Year’s resolutions. It seemed to be a senseless pursuit when I hardly had time to take a shower in the morning, let alone solve world hunger and achieve the coveted 36-24-36 figure I kept seeing on those miracle weight loss commercials. Besides, I tend to be a realist, and I know myself well enough to know that if it comes down to going out for a girls’ night where there are copious amounts of chocolate available, or sticking to my diet and slimming down, I’ll likely choose the most fun option. (I don’t have to spell it out for you, do I?) 

Well, this year, since my babies are growing up and I have a little more time to think about things I’d like to do for myself, I decided I would again boycott resolutions, but instead make some goals. I like this idea better for two reasons. 1) A goal is a much more active pursuit. 2) A goal is a specific pursuit with a measured outcome. I’m the kind of person who is motivated by results. I like to be able to measure my successes and celebrate them. Of course I realize that, while I create and define my goals, God might have other plans for me. And I’m okay with that. I’ll pray over my goals, keep them open for God’s direction, and let him guide the results. With that in mind, here are my goals for 2010:

1) I will start each morning with a brief Bible reading and commit my day to God. To measure the results, I’ll keep a journal and track how many days I achieve this goal. 

2) I will compete in my first sprint triathlon.

3) I will take one tangible step closer to pursuing my dream of publishing a novel. (This one’s already in the works.)

4) I will make a series of small changes to imbalance my life. (I know! Strange, huh? But I’ll give you a detailed explanation for this one in my post later this week.) 

What about you? What are your goals for this upcoming year? 

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