So... we are what, 10 days into the new year? How are you all going with your resolutions, if you made any?
Ive heard that statistics show that well over half resolutions made are not kept and have failed by the end of january, and over 90% of them have been broken by the end of the year. Wow now thats motivational...NOT!! We people are fragile, unreliable creatures are we not? But with the help of almighty God, we can keep promises, we can stay motivated and we can do what we set out to do. Their is a certain stickability that comes with being a dedicated righteous person.
I think It begins with your motives. I personally dont like the idea of "new years resolutions" because it seems like we are dedicating our steadfastness to the year at hand, for the sake of tradition. I'd much prefer to call it "God-inspired resolutions" of which you can take up any time of the year and have a much more likely chance of fulfilling. You see when your reason is, to please God and aim to be more like Jesus, you have a far greater chance of actually succeeding.
Everything we do should be for His glory, not our own. This means even if your "resolution" was to loose 30 kilos this year, it shouldn't be because you want to be a smoking hot Barbie doll, but because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and an overweight, gluttonous temple isn't as useful for the kingdom (nor will it last as long) as a fit and healthy body. If your resolution was to Keep a Tidier house it shouldn't be because you are competing with Sally down the street who seems to be an effortless Martha stewart, or because you want to look like the model housekeeper, it should be because it's your job to do so, and you realized you need to do it better, and that it will benefit your family and please God to have a home of order and neatness. Are we getting the theme here? Motives are everything.
Once we have our motives sorted out (which may take prayer and a change of mindset for some) it's then important to remember not to set the bar too high. You know what you will most likely not follow through with and what you may have the "will power" to actually do. Don't resolve to exercise every single day for an hour and a half if you've never exercised a day in our life and have 3 kids and a job. It won't happen. You would be better of resolving to exercise 3 or 4 times a week for however long is reasonable for the amount of weight you need to loose. You need to get a plan and know what it is you need to do to make your resolution a reality. Someone may decide they are going to learn a language in a year (which is possible but takes ALOT of dedication)... If that person is already busy with family and so on, it would be foolish to then put every spare moment they have into learning another language. Not only will it effect other areas of their life but it will see to it that they get extremely bored and even maybe frustrated with the task of learning the language. It's a bit of common sense, having a reasonable, responsible big picture plan and then putting patience and stick-to-it-Iveness to work.
You can, with God's help, succeed with your yearly goals. Just remember to keep your priorities in order, your motives right and your heart soft to God's leading.
Ive heard that statistics show that well over half resolutions made are not kept and have failed by the end of january, and over 90% of them have been broken by the end of the year. Wow now thats motivational...NOT!! We people are fragile, unreliable creatures are we not? But with the help of almighty God, we can keep promises, we can stay motivated and we can do what we set out to do. Their is a certain stickability that comes with being a dedicated righteous person.
I think It begins with your motives. I personally dont like the idea of "new years resolutions" because it seems like we are dedicating our steadfastness to the year at hand, for the sake of tradition. I'd much prefer to call it "God-inspired resolutions" of which you can take up any time of the year and have a much more likely chance of fulfilling. You see when your reason is, to please God and aim to be more like Jesus, you have a far greater chance of actually succeeding.
Everything we do should be for His glory, not our own. This means even if your "resolution" was to loose 30 kilos this year, it shouldn't be because you want to be a smoking hot Barbie doll, but because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and an overweight, gluttonous temple isn't as useful for the kingdom (nor will it last as long) as a fit and healthy body. If your resolution was to Keep a Tidier house it shouldn't be because you are competing with Sally down the street who seems to be an effortless Martha stewart, or because you want to look like the model housekeeper, it should be because it's your job to do so, and you realized you need to do it better, and that it will benefit your family and please God to have a home of order and neatness. Are we getting the theme here? Motives are everything.
Once we have our motives sorted out (which may take prayer and a change of mindset for some) it's then important to remember not to set the bar too high. You know what you will most likely not follow through with and what you may have the "will power" to actually do. Don't resolve to exercise every single day for an hour and a half if you've never exercised a day in our life and have 3 kids and a job. It won't happen. You would be better of resolving to exercise 3 or 4 times a week for however long is reasonable for the amount of weight you need to loose. You need to get a plan and know what it is you need to do to make your resolution a reality. Someone may decide they are going to learn a language in a year (which is possible but takes ALOT of dedication)... If that person is already busy with family and so on, it would be foolish to then put every spare moment they have into learning another language. Not only will it effect other areas of their life but it will see to it that they get extremely bored and even maybe frustrated with the task of learning the language. It's a bit of common sense, having a reasonable, responsible big picture plan and then putting patience and stick-to-it-Iveness to work.
You can, with God's help, succeed with your yearly goals. Just remember to keep your priorities in order, your motives right and your heart soft to God's leading.
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