After going over in her mind whether or not resolutions are useful, she says this:
However, after some deliberation I have concluded that resolutions serve a valuable purpose. New years, new months, new weeks, even new days present us with the opportunity to do better today than we did yesterday. To acknowledge that who and what we are at the end of the year, for better or worse, is in many ways a referendum on the daily choices we have made as the year began. It is an acknowledgment that we have a choice, a role in the fruit our lives produce, even if we cannot control all of the circumstances that come our way. Sometimes we need to feel the guilt of our laziness and bad choices.
I would agree. But I don't think that having the same resolutions twice or three times or ten times in a row should necessarily lead to guilt. (that's not what Terry ends up saying, either, but I want to use her as a jump off point!).
Let me explain.
I've made extremely detailed plans for my business, but for my personal life and spiritual life I'm not getting that detailed. I know what I want to do. Read the Word before my day really starts. Pray. Exercise. Have fun with my kids. Drink more water.
Easy as pie, right? We know it, but we don't always do it. But at least we're trying!
I think the problem is that we blame ourselves if we have the same resolutions every year, because we feel like failures.
But remember that passage in Philippians 3, that we are straining forward to what lies ahead? That means that we never really arrive; we always need to keep straining forward. We'll only arrive in heaven, not on earth.
So each year we SHOULD have the same resolutions; the resolutions that lead to a better life in Jesus, which encompasses our spiritual life, our physical life, and our relational life.
You're not a failure if you have to resolve the same things over and over again. You're only a failure if you give up trying!
I totally agree. I always make new year's resolutions. I think some people think that you've failed if you weren't 100% perfect with it. But i think if you make a huge improvement, it's a success. Last year i resolved to have no more coca-cola & i succeeded. Some people would say i failed, b/c i had about 6 cokes throughout the year! But before that i was drinking about 6 PER DAY - so i'd say i succeeded!
I think every new year is a growing point. No one is ever going to be perfect. That's a common misconception with people and resolutions. As Melissa has said, resolving to not drink anymore Coke doesn't have to mean EVER if you are drinking 9 or 10 a day. If you can cut 98% out and drink 6 a year when you were drinking more than 6 every single day: that's a success. And the next year you can strive for more. We can always get better.
great post, and a good reminder that we haven't "failed" if we still have to work on the same things. so far my resolutions are going well and i'm feeling energized about it all! i've decided to do a weekly accountability check-in on my blog as a reminder to stay on track.
I love "resolutions" because they give me a chance to reflect on the last year and what I want to accomlish in the next year. My 2009 resolution was to cook dinner, eliminate CHAOS, and tone my body. I cook dinner a few nights a week (more than I used to), i'm getting better and keeping my houseowrk under control, and i didn't tone but I did lose all my pregnancy weight. I could see it as failure but I choose to look at all that I DID accomplish, instead of what I didn't. 2010: spend more time with friends, eat more fruits/veggies, eliminate clutter in my house. I'm very excited to have something to work towards. Now I just need to print them up on a big sheet of paper and hang it somewhere as a reminder to myself what I want to do.
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
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Thanks for the link, Sheila.
And actually, my resolutions are going pretty well so far.
Intentional living is hard work, but I believe it's worth it.