New Year’s Resolutions are a Bunch of Crock

New Year’s resolutions are a bunch of crock. You know what the definition of “resolution” is?

“A firm decision to do or not to do something.”

Ok, I get it. We all want to decide on December 31st that starting tomorrow, we’ll no longer make the same old mistakes. We “resolve” that we’ll lose 10 pounds, or stop eating sugar, or be kinder to our kids. We decide we are starting fresh, and we’re gonna conquer the world. 

Only problem is, we’re all human. And that means we’re going to fail. 

Another problem? A lot of times, our resolutions are vague: “lose weight” (how? how much? by when?), “stop eating sugar” (for how long? just go cold turkey? or slowly eliminate it?), “read my Bible more” (how much more? a page more? a chapter more?). We need specifics if we’re going to succeed. 

So, I don’t like the term “resolution.” I like the term “goal.”

You know what the definition of a “goal” is?

“The object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.”

Yes, an aim or desired result. 

Not that I want to set myself up for failure, but I got tired of failing a long time ago. I decided that I was no longer going to set New Year’s “resolutions,” but would set “goals.” Semantics, semantics. But they make a big difference to me. 

I love setting goals. As a matter of fact, when I don’t have any goals, I tend to get a bit depressed. I have to be working toward something, whether it’s physically, spiritually, emotionally, or relationally. But I don’t necessarily want to resolve to do certain things. Because if I resolve to do them and don’t, I feel like I failed. If I have a goal and don’t meet it, I feel like I can just pick up my bootstraps and try again. I mean, in soccer, the team is trying to make a goal. And when they don’t, they just try again. They don’t just say, “Oh well, we tried. Better luck next year!”

You could argue that there really isn’t that much of a difference between the two, but for me, there is. 

So each year, I make at least 3 goals for the new year:

Physical
Spiritual
Emotional/Relational

I love starting a new year fresh, reflecting on the previous year and thinking on what’s ahead. 

Last year, I had a physical goal to try something new that I hadn’t done before. I ended up trying yoga and loving it! 

I set a spiritual goal to spend more time in prayer. I got my kids involved with me, and we started Prayer Warrior Monday!

I set a relational goal to get all the birthday cards for the year done in January (for all my family and extended family). I pretty much met that goal, but forgot to mail a couple of them before the birthdays came. Whoops! But, it was a *huge* relief to have those already done and ready to be sent out by the time the birthdays came! 

This year, I haven’t decided yet what my goals will be. I haven’t had my time yet to sit down and really think and pray about what 2014 might have for me. I can guarantee, though, that there will be something physical, spiritual and relational for me to work on! Maybe it’ll even include my 30 Day At-Home CrossFit Challenge!

Ultimately, though, it’s about changing, progressing into a better person. It’s not about setting one goal and being done with it. We should be constantly striving to better ourselves, challenge ourselves to get closer to the person it is God wants us to be. It’s a journey, and it’ll take us our whole lives, not just one year. The “goal” is that at the end of our lives, we look back and see how we grew and morphed into who we were supposed to be. 

What about you? Do you set New Year’s resolutions? Goals? Think they’re both a bunch of crock and that you should be working on things throughout the year, not just on January 1st? Think I’m an idiot? Let me know!