So it’s a new year - 2014. A
blank canvass upon which to paint a new masterpiece. A new chapter to write
with fresh ink. An adventure to be lived, with all new twists and turns of
excitement to experience.
Ok, you can stop stifling
your “I-hate-cheesy-clichés” laugh and eye rolls. I know what you’re thinking.
I think it too.
Life is rarely the
made-for-TV-movie script we wish it were. We rarely have those stellar years.
Every time we make a resolution it ends up as broken as last year’s. According
to an article on Forbes.com, in fact, only 8% of people achieve their
resolutions.
The exact numbers in
statistics don’t really matter. After all, everyone knows that precisely 36.8%
of all statistics are made up anyway….. (wait for it….THERE ya go!) The point
is, so few people actually set official new year’s resolutions, and even fewer
keep them.
I’m here today to simply
encourage you to do so, and really give it a go this year. Whether they’re to
be called resolutions of the “New Year’s” variety, or just resolutions you’ve
been wanting to make awhile now and, well, now’s just the best time (“No time
like the present!” they say).
After all, we used to be a
country of resolution-makers. But not so much anymore. The media world programs a lesser standard of moral and civil interest into anyone who's got a TV or radio. We've become a hyper-paced, technologically over-stimulated, entertainment-mongering society. And we're busier than ever. But doing what? Think of what generally comprises our time
nowadays. Aside from work and sleep, the average person has probably less than
6 or 7 hours of a day to pack in all the rest of what they have on their plate.
After factoring in caring for children, preparing and eating meals, and all the
other even more trivial things that occur daily or multiple times daily,
there’s so little time left for what we want to do with our lives that
we tend to live out very happenstance existences.
But we should live on
purpose. We should have goals. If I don’t set a goal for where I want to be
down the road….I’m already there. Depending on which area of my life we’re
talking, that can be downright depressing!
Let’s get one other thing
out of the way right now, too: I know I’m not an expert on resolutions by any
stretch. My wife will attest (if she has to) to the fact that I leave things
undone – intentions included. Of course we all do. But I think a new year does
provide an appropriate dogear to a page of one chapter of life where it can’t
hurt to put a foot down and create a new course for oneself. That’s what I’ve
made up my mind to do in 2014.
When I sat down to create my
list of resolutions, I initially thought that 1 big one would do nicely. But
how to settle on just one thing was really daunting. Of course, creating a
massive, never-ending list can certainly seem a mountain too. I wound up
deciding on 8 resolutions. I borrowed from a knowledge of 8 categories of life
that I’m familiar with, that, to me, comprise all of my existence. Within each
of those 8 main categories, I then chose a way to be specific in the phrasing
of the resolution. Along with that came a need to use distinct action words, so
that there’d be no vagueness about how I’d accomplish it. To be honest with
you, while I’d mentally come up with resolutions before, I’ve never written (or
typed) it out before. This year I did. Here’s what I came up with:
§
I
resolve to walk closer to my Savior and grow in His wisdom through reading the
Scriptures.
§
I
resolve to become a model family man by becoming a more nurturing father, a
more loving husband, and an able captain of my household.
§
I
resolve to establish habits that will produce better health and body image, to
have more energy, look fitter, and be more productive.
§
I
resolve to manage my personal finances more responsibly to enable myself to
bless my family and others with whatever wealth God gives.
§
I
resolve to become a better advocate for freedom through educating myself on the
principles and history of what once made America great, and can again.
§
I
resolve to become a true leader in all areas of life, through reading the right
books, listening to the right inputs, and associating with other leaders, and
then implementing it all into action. I can and MUST make a difference and
leave a lasting legacy for the next generation!
§
I
resolve to become a better friend, by taking ownership of all my relationships,
seeking only win-win situations, and making Christ-like deposits into others’
lives whenever possible.
§
I
resolve to gain a healthier view of fun and entertainment: to allow myself
leisure for the purpose of introspection, to use play and recreation as a
recharging of my battery for chasing my purpose, and to bring more joy to my
life and make someone else’s day.
Is that a lengthy, and
perhaps overly-thorough, list of resolutions? Maybe. But let me remind you that
I had to be very intentional with the list, so that vagueness wouldn’t lead to
inaction. Specificity always gives greater enlightenment as to how to move
forward.
With the “what” of
resolutions decided, and their presence made more real in my life by having
written them down (and I’ll probably post several copies around my house to
serve as reminders), the biggest concern that remains is: HOW? How do they get
accomplished.
First of all, I’m trying to
keep the healthy view of it all, that any progress in these areas is going to
be a win. Books like The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson (http://slightedge.org/) talk about how simply taking little steps in the
right direction have a residual effect that leads to a win. What’s the best
(and probably only) way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So even if I
only get slightly better in all of these areas this year, that’s still better
than sliding backwards in those areas, which The Slight Edge describes
WILL happen if you don’t take positive action forward. There is only progress
or regression, there’s no staying the same.
Which leads to the next
point. How can I know whether I’m getting better or coming closer to achieving
a resolution? All great leadership experts teach on how important the
scoreboard is when trying to be excellent. If you set up no measuring standard
for yourself, you allow your own natural self-deception to guide you into
mediocrity (at best) or failure (at worst). So there has to be some
quantifiable way of gauging or judging one’s progress. That’s for you to
decide. But be honest with yourself. The best goals are things that are just a
bit out of reach. George Guzzardo, a leadership expert who mentors with Orrin
Woodward (the #6 leadership guru in the world), says “Vision must be believable
but border on the unbelievable.” So have vision for where you want to be in a
given area, and make it bold, but achievable with a good stretch. You want to
know you overcame some things to get it, but also not be downtrodden if you
miss it by a mile because it wasn’t truly attainable.
Within goal-setting we find
probably the greatest amount of difficulty. I’m not going to get terribly
nitty-gritty here because, as I’ve already readily admitted, I’m no resolutions
expert. What I’ve learned about aiming for something and then going after it is
all material that I’ve found elsewhere. An excellent book that can help you
really take hold of this whole idea is called Resolved: 13 Resolutions for
LIFE by best-selling author Orrin Woodward. You can even find a personal
development program – something kind of like P90X for your mind – called the
Mental Fitness Challenge (http://www.mental-fitness-challenge.com/),
which has modules based off 3 leadership books, of which Woodward's book is one. Chapters
5 and 6 are extremely helpful on this topic of gameplanning and executing.
Finally, the biggest thing
about resolutions is your “Why.” As you sit and think with eyes closed about
the “new you” in whatever area your resolution(s) fall(s) (and visualization is
a huge key to accomplishing your goal – just ask any pro athlete, Olympian,
etc), what is ultimately driving you?
For me, it’s my faith.
Rather, it’s the object of my faith. I don’t want my blog to be about pushing
my brand of faith on anyone else, but to me there’s an undeniable connection
between one’s spiritual foundation and their motivation in life. I personally
aim to become a better, healthier, more loving, more highly functional,
leadership-heavy individual because I believe I can give glory to my God that
way. He has given me a life that is incredible and I’m unworthy of it all. He
has prospered me despite my wanderings and blaspheming behavior. He has loved
me with good fortunes, the surroundings of loving people, and most importantly
by promising a permanent address in heaven after my time’s up here on Earth.
My life, and everything I
aim to do and do well, is a thank offering for me. Just like ancient people
used to sacrifice things to their deities (the people of Israel did, to the now
Judeo-Christian God) on altars, so I lift up my life, my humble efforts, along
with my failings, and place it on a pyre and light it up, so the smoke signals
and aromas of my performance show “fruit on the tree” that I’m a real believer
and not a pretender. That is my ultimate motivation.
Secondary to that – and also
tremendously important – is the blessing I hope that achieving these resolutions
brings to everyone around me. Many of these resolutions have to do with others
directly, and I want to be a better me for them too. Only instead of their
benefit or approval being my only motivation, it’s more of a byproduct.
Ultimately, whether you find
faith like mine as your starting point for any of this, I most of all want to
encourage you to try out the approach I’m trying out this year, to knock
resolutions out of the park. It’s been a bane in many people’s existence, but
it’s a problem that can be solved. Maybe one to be re-solved.
I wish you the best in
becoming your best!
Oh, and….Happy New Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment