Monday, January 06, 2014

How To Keep Your Resolutions

It's that time of year, where people seem to go full steam ahead into personal improvement. And the steam usually lasts about 3 weeks...

So how do you make sure you actually improve? What can you do to better your spiritual life this year?

Make fewer goals: If you have more than 3 resolutions, you're probably not going to keep them. I'm going to eat better, work out more, read a book a week, write a symphony, volunteer an hour a day, build a house from wood I chopped down myself, etc., etc. It's too much. Pick 3 or less, you may have a better chance at doing them.

Make a plan: I'm going to read a book a week. Great goal. Now, that will take about 6 hours a week, where does that time come from? Despite what people say, you can't make time, it's not possible. All you can do is reallocate it. So if you don't make a plan to get back that 6 hours, you'll never read that book.

When it comes to your relationship with Jesus and your spiritual family, are you making resolutions in a way you can actually keep them? Can you make one resolution like "join a Bible Study", plan out which one works for your schedule? Maybe make sure your homework, exercising, Netflix movie is done at a different time to free up that hour or so? Make a plan for how you're going to get there if you need a ride?

Here's a challenge for you, read the Bible this year. Most Christians have not read the entire Bible (I've been in a room where a lot of pastors had not), what if you actually read your Holy Library just once? You can do it with 10-15 minutes a day, the internet is littered with reading plans (there are some in the Wharf for FIRE & WATER students).

Don't make resolutions this year, keep resolutions this year. There's a big difference between talk and action...

T

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