Three Things I'm Doing in the New Year

 

I’m terrible at setting goals. Part of my problem is that I talk myself out of success before I even get started (“I’m going to fail anyway, why bother?!”), and part of it is that I’m afraid of failure (which makes it hard to start something and be “new” at it).

This is why I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution in probably a decade. Maybe two.

This January, though, I’ve been thinking a lot about my kids and what I want life to be like for them, and I’ve realized that I need to be better at modeling those things. I need to make some changes.

I’m going to do three things for myself (hopefully) every day:

1. Something for my mind

2. Something for my body

3. Something for my soul

I keep telling myself, “THIS IS NOT A RESOLUTION, it’s just a THING you’re doing.” Somehow that makes it feel more attainable (even though it’s technically, probably a resolution). If I miss a day, it’s okay - I’ll pick it up again when I remember to!

These don’t have to be big things, and they don’t have to take a long time. (I’m realizing now that maybe the other reason I don’t make traditional resolutions is that I’m scared of commitment, lol.)

Something for my mind
There are so many options for this one! Read a book. Work on a puzzle. Listen to good music while I do the dishes. Play the Wordle. Do a crossword puzzle. 

Something for my body
This is personally the toughest one, and probably the easiest for me to talk myself out of. I think I get up in my head about physical activity because I was always the last one picked for the team and the last kid to finish the mile run (one year I got beat by a kid with a LITERAL BROKEN FOOT, he was wearing the special boot and everything). My defense mechanism is just to make jokes at my own expense and then not even try. So I’m going to keep this part of the plan pretty simple.

I can do some good stretching (this makes such a difference!). Drink a big glass of water (I am chronically under-hydrated). Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Park in the back of the parking lot at the store. Switch one of my snacks from candy to fruit. 

Something for my soul
As a society, we get busy. Unfortunately, I think "soul care" can be an area that gets neglected. I know it is for me. However, we don’t have to take a long, expensive class to make some positive changes here. 

One thing I’ve done a few times that makes me FEEL so much better is to just set a five-minute timer, put my phone on silent in another room, and then just sit quietly - not trying to come up with words to say, but just to listen. Read Scripture before I scroll. Join a World’s Biggest Small Group Bible discovery. Pray for folks who have posted on the Prayer Wall. Stop myself from saying something unkind. Practice gratitude.

But why?
My hope is that by focusing on these three things every day, I’ll live a more intentional life. I have a habit of just drifting through time and trying to survive from one event to the next. I sometimes become more of a human DOING than a human BEING.

My other hope? That by living more intentionally, I won’t be as bothered by the small stuff of life. There will always be bad drivers, canceled plans, and bills to pay - we can’t change that. What we can change is how we respond to it.