Healthy Holiday: How to Fall in Love with New Year’s Resolutions

“I hate New Year’s resolutions.”

“New Year’s resolutions don’t work, so why make any?”

“I resolve not to make any New Year’s resolutions.”

How to Fall in Love with New Year’s Resolutions

There is truth to the statement above that New Year’s resolutions don’t work. One statistic I foundclaims just 8% of New Year’s resolutions are successful. In fact, most are broken by February. That’s mere weeks after they are made.

Despite all that, I love New Year’s resolutions.

I love making resolutions and setting goals, too. I like clean sheets of white paper, fresh calendars, and lined pages for to-do lists. Possibilities and opportunities excite me.

Before grabbing the party hats and leftover streamers to chuck at me, allow me to share why I love New Years resolutions, and other similar goal-setting opportunities:

I am not afraid of failure.

What is the key to loving New Year’s resolutions? Do not be afraid to fail. 

When you make a resolution or set a goal, you might be one of the 92% of people who fails at keeping your New Year’s resolutions this year. So what if you are? Unless your resolution is to solo stunt fly an airplane, your attempts at greatness will not kill you. You are going to be better for the trying.

What if you are part of the 8% who succeed? Imagine what you can accomplish in your life and for God’s kingdom!

Look at what the Bible says:

^“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:8-10

God has huge plans for your life. Of course God is so much bigger than resolutions, to-do lists, and calendars. Yet He is not unwilling to work within these everyday means. 

Pull out that paper, sharpen the pencils, dream the big dreams, and then lay it all at the Master’s feet. Boldly ask God to guide your every step as you set about doing the good work He has prepared in advance for you to do.

With that ahead of you, how can this next year not be the best one yet?

Check out this post by Christine Drews about the 4 stages of change to find out which stage of change you are currently in and how to make changes that actually stick. This is one of the best articles I’ve read on the subject!

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