Every year, people make New Year’s Resolutions. According to the Internet, the Top 10 New Year's Resolutions are: (1) start exercising or exercising more; (2) dieting to lose weight; (3) organizing home, office, and possessions; (4) learning new skills or get new hobbies; (5) be more active and assertive; (6) saving or make more money; (7) quitting bad habits such as smoking; (8) spending more time with family and friends; (9) travelling more; and (10) reading more books. These are all good goals.
For practicing Christians, they make more “religious” resolutions. They include: attending Sunday worship more regularly, doing daily devotions, praying more and longer, seeking God's wisdom in decision making, trusting God more, showing more love toward others, stop lying or exaggerating, speaking only truths and facts, acting more humbly, etc. These pledges, I’m sure, will enhance one’s faith journey.
But, sadly, New Year's Resolutions are often abandoned in a few days. No matter what your New Year’s Resolution is, in order to make them part of your life or routine, you must practice them consistently for at least 3 months or about 100 days. So, I’d like to share five practical tips to help you achieve your resolutions.
First, check your "motivation.” You must be sufficiently motivated to change your thinking and/or behavior. You can never keep resolutions that are not personal or deeply relevant to you. There has to be a sufficient “why” or cause behind your resolution.
Second, be specific. Don’t just say, “I want to lose weight.” How many pounds do you want to lose this year? Divide that by 12–that’s how much weight you ought to target each month. Divide that by 4, and that’s how much weight you should lose each week. Be specific. Break down the overall goal into smaller chunks. That makes your task easier and manageable.
Third, be realistic. If you want to save money, how much can you save in a year? A million dollars? That’s probably unrealistic (for most of us anyway). How about saving 20-30% more than the previous year? Then, do the above year-to-month-to-week breakdown to make the goal reachable. Your goal can’t be just wishful thinking.
Fourth, do things differently. If you want to lose weight by dieting, you need to clear out and organize the refrigerator first, and purchase different kinds of food. Hoping to lose weight by eating the same food is illogical. Similarly, it is silly to pledge to read the Bible 30-minutes a day without re-organizing your daily schedule. Taking some things off of your plate is necessary to integrate the reading habit.
Fifth, measure your progress. From time to time, check and see how you’re doing. If you’re ahead of your schedule or plan, well, fantastic! Keep going! Stay ahead of schedule! If you’ve fallen behind, make some adjustments to catch up (i.e, additional weekend reading or running an extra lap) and get back on track. Measuring progress will empower and encourage you to resist giving up.
I hope the above guidelines will help you to accomplish your New Year’s Resolutions. I sincerely wish you and yours the Happiest New Year, and I pray for God’s rich and abundant blessing in 2022! Be safe out there, everyone!
Comments