There’s something about the clock striking midnight on the last day of the year. There’s a certain magic with the drop of a glittering ball in Times Square, as though the whole sum of your year is swept up on the second hand as it swings by.
The ticking of the clock comes with fanfare and ambitions. It comes with dreams of something new. Hopes of reinvention.
That’s what New Year’s resolutions are, after all—they’re just the outpouring of our desire to make ourselves new in the new year.
I like New Year’s resolutions. I always have.
Historically, I haven’t said most of my resolutions aloud. They’ve nearly always been personal goals held between my ears. This year, I’m branching out a bit by recording some of my goals publicly.
The goals I share aren’t so much for my own reinvention—they’re not about losing weight or quitting bad habits, respectable as those goals are. They’re about doing more better.
Whatever your goals for the new year, it’s good to set them. You’re ahead of the curve if you’ve plotted and planned strategies for achieving your resolutions for months leading up to January 1. Preparation is a key ingredient to achieving whatever you set your sights on.
However, for those who haven’t set goals, or those who are already down on the goals they’ve set, I want to remind you of what I’ve reminded myself of frequently. It’s never too late.
It’s never too late.
The new year is a construction of seasons and sociology. It has no actual bearing on the timeline of your personal ambitions. Sure, there is a natural reason to mark the first of January as the turn of the page and the beginning of our pursuit of self-improvement, growth, or innovation. The reason is that the digits on our computer screens and clocks and stationary change by one. The reason is that everyone else has chosen that day as the starting line toward their dreams.
That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
If you didn’t make a resolution for January 1, make one for today. Better yet, set a date one month or three month or six months out and designate it as Day 1. Give yourself time to prepare (not to indulge or make excuses!) so that when your Day 1 finally comes, you’ll be equipped and excited to do the hard work of achieving your goal. You’ll be ready.
Resolving to change, to do a big thing, to succeed—it isn’t confined to New Year’s Day. Every day can be Day 1.
As boring as my suggestion will sound, I’d like to submit a resolution for your readers to consider: become a member of a local church, or if you are already a member, resolve to become more useful in your local church. It is true that our local churches are full of hypocritical, boring, annoying people, but that is where the real spiritual growth occurs! Jesus summed up the commandments as lovng God and your neighbor. It’s easier to love people from a distance, and only interact with people you naturally like. I’ve been convicted in this past year about how even in my own little church of 150 people, there are those that I dislike and avoid. I’ve asked the Holy Spirit to change my heart, and He has grown my love and changed my attitude toward those I didn’t like. What’s more, I’ve seen real spiritual growth occur as our ladies have increased in love for one another as we’ve supported eachother in prayer! The local church seems boring and insignificant in the eyes of the world, but this is how God is advancing His kingdom in mighty ways in the hearts of His people!
Not boring at all! Refusing to be a sideline Christian is an enormously important goal. Thanks for the recommendation and I hope many will take you up on it!