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It’s a new year—and for some of us, a chance to
step back, take a look at life, and resolve to do some things differently as well as build on things we’re doing well.
Over at his Storyline Blog, Donald
Miller reflected on some reasons why New Year’s resolutions don’t work—and some
ways to make them easier to keep. Among other things, he suggests making
resolutions that are meaningful to our life’s narrative, making a plan to implement
them, and recognizing that you’ll probably experience some conflict in trying
to keep them. In addition, he reminds us how easy it can be to forget them—and that
sharing them can help.
I like the idea of thinking of resolutions in the
context of the larger story we are living. In the last couple of years, one of
the ongoing themes in my life has been one of simplifying and reducing, and some
of my most successful resolutions have been in line with that.
It’s also been helpful to me to think in terms
of replacing bad or old habits with better ones or, at least, recognizing that a
new habit or discipline will need to take the place or space of something else;
there’s only so much time and space in one’s life. Also significant has been making
a plan on how to implement resolutions and utilizing tools to help work towards
them.
So, in keeping with all that, I’m sharing a few
of my resolutions that fall in line with the simplify-and-reduce theme in my story—as
well as my plans to implement them:
Read a book a week. I have a growing shelf of 30-odd books waiting to be read. I plan to empty that shelf using a plan I discovered at In Over Your Head.
Shed more stuff. A couple of years ago, I resolved to reduce my footprint, which I’ve discovered is more of an ongoing habit than a one-time goal. The Joy of Less by Francine Jay was foundational in forming my declutter and simplifying strategies and habits—which I find I must revisit every few months. This is one of those months.
Simplify my soul. One of the first books I’ll pull off my waiting-to-be-read book shelf will be Richard Foster’s Freedom of Simplicity. This resolution will take shape from what I read there.
Keep up a healthy diet and exercise. Last year, I lost 20 pounds—and I’ve kept it off. I started jogging again using the Couch to 5K program; I plan to continue jogging three miles three times a week. I'll also continue tracking my calories and exercise on MyFitnessPal.com, and planning out menus at the beginning of each week.
I’m taping a simplified version of these and
other resolutions to my laptop where I’ll see them every day. Blessings on your
own resolutions—and Happy New Year!