Better than a resolution ...
10 …
A ball.
9 …
As it slowly descends, it becomes our symbol of all things new. New year. New start. New hopes. New habits.
A new YOU.
8 …
A ball.
Dang. It causes us to reflect, too. Wasn’t last year supposed to be my fresh start? Didn’t I have new hopes and new habits in mind a year ago? Wasn’t I supposed to be a new me today?
Yes.
I was.
But I’m not.
7 …
And I have no one to blame but me. The truth is, I DIDN’T want to change. Drifting is so much easier. Thoughtless. I’ve always struggled to fit in, and this seems to be what everyone else does. We have a lot in common. Just chasing the next distraction like a kitten pounces on the light from a laser pointer.
6 …
But this year can be different.
This year WILL be different.
Unless it isn’t.
5 …
A coach and a pastor can influence you. So can a new diet, a book, or an online course. But to be a new you next year at this time? It will take practice. It will take discipline. It will take you actually WANTING something new or different.
4 …
Yet in the end, we WILL change, whether we realize it or not. I hate to admit this, but my guess is that we’re all a little angrier, a little more skeptical, a bit more fearful than we were on December 31, 2020. And that breaks my heart. I don’t believe we willingly chose to go in that direction. We gave the world permission to let it happen.
3 …
Boom! That’s it. That’s the answer we’re looking for …
Making it happen > Letting it happen
No need for resolutions. No need for goals. No need to try the last “five steps” to whatever it is we’re chasing. It’s simply remembering this:
Making it happen > Letting it happen
How? Let’s try this together:
Focus, then ask — “In what way do I WANT to be formed this year?” As noted earlier, we are constantly being formed by what gets our attention. What we behold, we become.
Pause, then ask — “Will this next action I take improve my physical health, my mental health, and my relationships with God and others?”
2 …
It’s true we can’t control the circumstances in our lives. But we certainly CAN control the way we live. That’s not some self-help, motivational dreck we see promoted on social media. It’s simply the truth.
You know it. And I know it.
1 …
One meal, one workout, one conversation, one day at a time. Multiply that by 365 and that’s EXACTLY who you will be on December 31, 2022.
And on that date, when someone greets you with a hearty “Happy New Year,” I hope you can smile and answer:
“Yes, it was. And I can’t wait to MAKE it happen again.”
(Tim Kolodziej is the author of this piece and founder of EnspireU.com. When he’s not behind a laptop, he can be found inside a gym helping young athletes create their own unique future — one rep at a time. Click here to connect with him by email.)