Goals Rather Than Resolutions

I don't do New Year's resolutions. Even still I have many times succumbed to the idea that the start of a new year is the perfect time to start doing the things that I have meant to do and not done. Then, later, as I fall behind or fail in some way it gets me down. Whether it is from a new year or another time, this blog is a great example of something I have wanted to do, started with good intentions and then failed to keep up with. I have started writing regularly, only to end up with months and months of silence.

This morning I read something in my daily readings that struck me as a much better way to handle such things.

The New Year
Make New Year's goals. Dig within, and discover what you would like to have happen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an affirmation that you're interested in fully living life in the year to come.

This is so much better than a resolution. A goal is something that you are trying to do or achieve, whereas a resolution is a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent. With the resoltuon there is the feeling of I must do this, the way I stated I would, or I have failed. But when I fall short of a goal, I can rethink my approach, try again, and even be happy about the progress made.

Later, in the reading, this advice was given.
Write it down. Take a piece of paper, a few hours of your time, and write it all down - as an affirmation of you, your life, and your ability to choose. Then let it go.
Certainly, things happen that are out of our control. Sometimes, these events are pleasant surprises; sometimes, they are of another nature. But they are all part of the chapter that will be this year in our life and will lead us forward in the story.

I love this. First, to write down my goals, makes me have to stop and really think it through. Is my goal simply something I feel the need to do to earn approval? Or is it something that I can honestly say is worth the the effort and sacrifice that it will take to accomplish it? Is it realistic? Is it something that I feel God wants me to do and or that I truly want to do for the right or for good reasons? Etc. But after thinking it through and setting it down so that the goals can be remembered and worked toward, let it go.

There are things beyond our control that can cause setbacks, or change the direction of a journey. Then, even more importantly, letting the idea of the finished product go allows room for the Will of God to control the journey and the destinataion. If I resolve to do something I may refuse to allow any deviation no matter what, out of fear of appearing to fail, which, if God's will is different, can cause me to strive against the will of God. Also by letting the expectation go, I may succeed as planned, or I may discover a different but even better ending. Regardless though I have not set myself up for a resentment when and if things do not turn out as planned and I do not have to see a different outcome as embarrassment or failure.

The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.

Today, I will remember that there is a powerful force motivated by writing dawn goals. I will do that now, for the year to come, and regularly as needed. I will do it not to control but to do my part in living my life.

There are goals which I have for 2014 and the years to come. Most I will not list here. But one goal is to focus more on recovery, helping others, and writing more. But this will depend on what God gives me to share, among other things. I pray that the journey takes me where God wants me to go this year and teaches me what I need to learn.