There is a year-end tradition throughout the world, very fashionable amongst women I must say, that is to think, plan and proclaim our New Year’s Resolution.
Every month of December, we start planning the year ahead of us and many things come across our mind: a diet, a change of job position, an evening course, some handcraft, some reading, gym, to learn a new language, to visit a country, to restore broken friendships, to get married, to broaden our group of action, to quit an addiction, to do some charity work, to engage in a religious practice, and the list goes on.
I might not have mentioned a particular resolution but I guess you have identified yourself with couple of above ones.
We get so motivated to the New Year’s events, we buy new Year Planners, desk calendars, birthday notebooks, journals and diaries to host all our plans that are many and of great deal.
We look forward to the crossing of the watch into the first minutes of the New Year, mainly if 2007 was not one of the few you could count as profitable in your life.
So much excitement, so much anticipation, so much planning and the time has arrived. We jump into the New Year and guess what? We find out that already into the first hours, nothing has changed - we do not feel different.
First weeks go by and you keep on postponing the starting date for all the special tasks you have assigned yourself for.
By February, lately March, you do not look much into your diary or journal and by mid of the year; you do not even know where you kept your Year Planner. When you realize, you have forgotten to greet so many friends and relatives for their birthdays, over the past few months, either because you did not bother to look into your birthday notebook or because you did not have time to mark down such important dates after all.
The New Year fever is gone and you feel like you are back to old times. Actually, what you have not reckoned is that there was no change not even for few days because you concentrated so much in planning changes around you and you forgot to dwell in changes inside you.
How to do different this year? I propose you two courses of action:
First, take a time to reflect over what you want to do or change and seek for the motives behind such changes. I must say 90% of needs for exterior changes in my life or myself where a direct result of dissatisfaction with whom I was. So, invest in strengthening who you are, value your qualities, work on to improve the good you found in you, love yourself and then after deal with what you want to be.
Second, learn to prioritise. How much does it count to have a list of 10 New Year’s Resolution and when you get to Dec 2008, you find out you have not achieved more than 1 of them. Think about what really matters and concentrate on 2 or 3 that you can really apply all your efforts to accomplish them and such accomplishment will bring you real inner reward.
Above all, remember, you cannot conquer real achievement if you go on the strength of your arm for the Lord says: “…apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NKJV
Start your diary, Year Planner, Desk Calendar by writing a love declaration to your Lord and invite Him to be the first in everything you plan or do from the 1st of January on.
Oh, another important attitude: forget your past – it is a New Year so why to bring all old memories to a newness of life?
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