I realize I'm perhaps a smidge late to talk about New Years Resolutions, but it's still January so I'm calling it good.
I'm going to have to be honest and say that New Years Resolutions have always kind of been a joke to me. I remember growing up we had this strange and silvery square box that I think my mom got as a gift from the middle east. Every year my parents would make us come up with a resolution to put in the box. There it would stay there until the next year when we would read all of resolutions aloud and evaluated whether or not we reached our goal(s) for the year. What I remember most is there being a lot of complaining involved in the process, and perhaps that's why we stopped doing that as a family tradition years and years ago.
After contemplating how to organize this post, I was inspired to seek out that shiny silver box and see what was inside. I'm laughing as I type because upon locating the box, I found the small white folded papers that laid neatly inside the black velvet lining. Well, all of them were neatly folded... except mine. It was the only folded piece of paper that the edges didn't align perfectly and it definitely had the worst handwriting. If I was using my best guessing skills, I would say that I couldn't have been more than ten when it was written. After no consideration at all, I was compelled to read what everyone wrote. It clearly had been a long time since the last time that we put the papers in the box because my grandma, who lived with us at the time, even had a resolution. She has now been passed away for over a decade, so reading her resolutions was really special. In fact, all of the resolutions were special. They were quite ambitious and even talked about renewing their relationship with God or the family or being a better student. Here was mine: "I will help grama when she needs help. I will help resolve dis-agreements with... my friends." Although I feel that my resolutions were somewhat admirable considering my age, I since then, would like to think that I can come up with some more in depth and sincere goals. I have grown to admire New Years Resolutions and definitely don't groan when it's time to come up with goals I have set for the coming year.
I've said it once, and I will say it again, 2013 was ROUGH. It has brought me some of my biggest challenges thus far in my life. 2013 also provided some of the most awful heartache and emotionally challenging year yet. But even among the negative elements, there has been SO much opportunity for growth, understanding and complete reliance on my character, friends, family and most importantly my Father in Heaven. Never in my life have I had to dig to the root of my soul and decide what I wanted and how I was going to reach my goals and move forward with my life. I have never felt so proud and accomplished of the progress that I have made and I can never thank the people in my life enough for giving me the strength and motivation to get through it.
To keep up the progress that I have made, this year I am particularly excited about New Years Resolutions. After careful thought and consideration, I have come up with a list of 5 resolutions that I believe cover the most important aspects of my life and will bring me the largest amount of happiness and fulfillment. Although I don't feel it is quite necessary to write about my personal goals on my blog, I do feel it is necessary to remember the importance of not only making goals, but writing them down somewhere. I am certain that this is a staple in making change or improvement in your life because it commits you to the goal and helps to motivate you if you read and ponder the reasoning behind the goal when times get tough.
The new year brings excitement to people because it makes them feel like they can recommit themselves and have a fresh start on regaining control of their lives. In reality, I am a firm believer that anytime is a great time to makes changes you want to see in your life happen, but the new year is a great place to start.
Wake Up & Live!
