New week resolutions 14th January 2017 by Susanne Irving

Setting resolutions seems such a great idea, just as eating healthily and sensibly seems a good idea after the Christmas and New Year indulgences. However, as soon as someone offers me a nice piece of dark chocolate, homemade biscuits or another sweet I really enjoy (or I see Christmas goodies at bargaining prices in the January sales), I am back to my old eating pattern.

So with some trepidation, I checked out what I published in this blog a year ago.  I was convinced that I had written about my New Year resolutions. I was trying to figure out how to explain to you that many of my resolutions had not quite come to fruition – truth be told, there were some items on my list that I had forgotten about almost as soon as the words were written!

I am not alone in my struggles. Research has apparently shown that by the middle of January, so around about now, a lot of people will have already given up on their New Year resolutions. By 30^th June, most people are no longer working on their goals.

As it turned out, I avoided the thorny subject of resolutions and played it safe in January 2016 by publishing a piece about my art course instead. It doesn’t solve my recurring problem with resolutions though.

For a few years, I made the resolution not to set any resolutions, but soon noticed the drawbacks of that approach. If I don’t have a plan, 

·         I am more likely to say “yes”, just because I am asked, and let other people make plans for me, 

·         I overspend my resources (both time and money) because I have not decided what I want,

·         I give myself the license to procrastinate (not that I need a lot of encouragement!),

·         I start projects without finishing them, which leads to clutter which leads to a sense of paralysis. 

There is also the small issue that Jesus seems to expect people to make a choice when He asks them what they want Him to do for them, and simply saying “I don’t know, You choose”, doesn’t seem to be the approach that is likely to elicit help.

So once again I have written down what I want to accomplish or change this year. Every week (OK, for the last two weeks) I have reviewed the vision and planned some weekly activities and experiments that may help me take steps towards achieving the goals. 

As I get easily distracted and bored, I figured that a week is about the right length of time to focus on something. When things go well, I simply extend what I am doing for another week. If things don’t work, I will try something different.

I am curious: Do YOU set goals? If yes, what helps or hinders your progress?

About the author:
Sue Irving is the co-ordinator for the Creative Communicators in Petersfield. She has co-written a book with her husband John about their experiences when climbing Kilimanjaro. It is aimed at both trekkers and those who are going through a dark time in their lives. How to conquer a mountain: Kilimanjaro lessons is available as a paperback and an e-book on Amazon, with all proceeds going to charity.