It's a New Year!!

                           

It’s a new year! 2017 is behind us, and 2018 is before us.  A new year always brings about a mix of emotions: excitement, anticipation, nervousness, determination.  A feeling of change.  The beginning of a new year is when many people make resolutions, or firm decisions to do something different in their life.  For me, the problem with resolutions is the first time you mess up, it feels like failure.  There’s a huge pressure with resolutions that weighs you down. That feeling of failure when you mess up causes many people to throw in the towel, making resolutions seem short-term. If you look at memberships at any fitness center in January and then in February, you would see a huge drop in numbers.  People have good ideas and desires, but following through is more difficult.  For me, setting goals works better than making a list of resolution “to dos”.  Goals are desired results…the object of a person’s ambition or effort.  Goals are things that you work on continually.  It’s deciding what you want and putting your best effort into achieving that.  Goals are more than empty promises of change.  They are the changes…. made because you have determination and ambition.  They’re something that you work hard for, even if you mess up along the way.  Goals aren’t set aside the first time you fail. 

So, how do we set goals, and how many should we have?  Honestly, the answers to those questions are different for everyone.  Some people do well with making a list of multiple very specific and detailed goals.  Other people choose one or two goals to work toward over the course of the entire year.  Goals can be short term, long-term, simple (getting a small task done on time or getting to work on time), or more complex (deepen my relationships with my family). No matter what goals you have for yourself, the key is staying motivated and determined to make it happen.  Work hard and don’t give up.  If you mess up, keep going. 

I have made a few goals for myself this year, and I will work hard to make them happen!  My goals are written down in my journal and I have discussed them with my best friend.  Often, we set goals for ourselves in our minds without ever writing them down or sharing them with someone close to us.  The problem with that is unless we share it somewhere, we have nothing or no one to hold us accountable.  No accountability makes it easier to forget about a goal when it gets tough or when we make a mistake.  Share your goals.  And if someone confides in you with their goals, support them and encourage them!

In addition to setting goals for myself, I have decided to choose one word to represent my year.  Everything I do this year I want to point back to this word. It will become my focus.  Unlike resolutions that can be easily broken, choosing one word to center myself around will give me a “vision for real change.”  I chose the word: 

INTENTIONAL

Intentional means deliberate and done on purpose.  It is an adjective, which means it describes.  I want my life to be described as intentional.  I want my actions to always be purposeful.  Intention is a mental state that represents a commitment to carrying out an action(s) in the future.  It involves mental activities such as planning and forethought.  Intentional means everything a person does needs to be thought out beforehand.  Will this action make a positive impact in my life or my world?  For me, living an intentional life means making a determined effort to do things purposefully in all areas, especially with my relationship to Jesus.  Spiritual growth requires intentional effort.  Brian LaCroix said, “be a person who does not live by default, but lives by decision.”  In my life, I want to be more determined to do what it takes to know God better and love Him more. This year, I don’t want to just let things happen.  I want to focus on pleasing God in whatever situation I’m in.  I want to live intentional.  I want to be intentional with my marriage and my relationship with Anthony.  I want to take a good thing, and focus on making it better.  I also want to be intentional with my parenting. As parents, we are expected to teach and model Biblical principles to our kids.  I can’t model Godly living, trust in God, a love for God and His Word by default.  It takes determined, decisive effort.  I want that. 

I want to be intentional about my actions, my words, and my attitude.  Ephesians 5:15 reminds me to “be careful how I live.”  Everything I do or say should have the purpose of bettering something in my world.  A word that is related to intentional is diligence, which means careful and persistent work or effort.  Being diligent is having an earnest and persistent application of effort.  I have to apply myself.  It’s not surprising to me that some antonyms of diligence and intentional are inactivity, laziness, and neglect.  This year, my focus is to make every moment count.  And as I focus on being more intentional in all areas of my life, I will be expecting that God will do wonderful things in me and around me because of it.  This year, as God works in me and around me, I will also enjoy the ride!!!!