5 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION


Many of you have made a new year’s resolution or you will very soon.  It’s a good time of year to reset, make some goals and evaluate what changes you might want to make for the upcoming year.  But why is it so hard to keep it going for more than a couple weeks?  Here are a couple ways to help you keep that resolution.

1.      Talk about it.  Tell some friends or family members what you plan to do (when appropriate).  It will help start building in some accountability for yourself.  Otherwise it’s pretty easy to start thinking, meh, wasn’t really gonna do those 1000 sit ups a day… it was just a joke.  Then all of a sudden it comes to Memorial Day Family Camp and your aren’t as beach ready as you hoped.  Or you had plans to do a Bible read through and you find yourself in Genesis 5 in the middle of March.  Have a close person or two help you stay on track, maybe you can do the same for them or even make it a bit of a competition.

2.     Be realistic.  I firmly believe God can do anything, and He uses people.  But be realistic in your resolution or goals, set yourself up to succeed.  Maybe your end goal has many smaller steps to it that will take some time.  The key is to get moving in the right direction.

3.     Don’t beat yourself up!  You aren’t going to be perfect, so don’t beat yourself up about it.  Strive for excellence in whatever you are doing.  Part of life is just trying to do better or be better than the day before, so do your best!

4.     Find your time.  I have recently realized that I had to be better at saying no to some things.  Even though I want to help with this, or volunteer for that… I can’t do it all.  You may have to do the same, prioritize what is really important and make the proper time for it. 

5.     Give it to Him!  Please don’t take this as cliché, because God is anything but that.  But really, pray about it if you haven’t already and listen to what He wants for you.  Why do you want to make this resolution?  What things could you start doing or stop doing that would glorify him more?  If you are a person that has never felt very directed by God, maybe ask Him to hit you over the head with it, and then listen.  Also, I would add this… even though the new year is a good time to reset naturally, maybe don’t wait for the calendar to flip next time.  If in the middle of this year you see something in your life you want to change, or God is leading you to something, go to it! 


So there, hopefully that is helpful as the calendar flips a new year.  If you haven’t made a resolution or set any new goals for yourself in a while, think about doing it.  If you need some ideas to prime the pump… think about being an encouragement daily, do a Bible read through, get out and exercise, go on a new adventure, make a bucket list and check a few off.  Oh, and have some fun, don’t be so serious!  I would love to hear some of your victories when you come to camp next.  Be encouraged!  God Bless!