Let’s face it: You’re not going to accomplish your New Year’s resolutions.
Don’t you feel better now?
According to inc.com, 91 percent of Americans will not achieve their New Year’s resolutions. I know what you are thinking: “So, you are saying there is a chance?” I appreciate your optimism.
The top three New Year’s resolutions from 2022 were to exercise more, get healthier, and to lose weight. If the statistics are right, it may be better to set a resolution that you will gain weight.
These resolutions reveal what Americans are longing for.
We strive to live longer on this earth, and to change our outward appearance. For the 9 percent who accomplish that goal this year, they find that this doesn’t necessarily bring them the happiness they were seeking. It may prolong their days for another decade, but that is a blink compared to eternity.
What if we begin to actually live like we believe that this is not our home? What if we focused our attention this New Year on deepening our relationship with Jesus and becoming healthy spiritually?
Unfortunately, those same stats may apply even if we are resolved to improve our life spiritually. Resolutions must collide with lifestyle changes in order to accomplish our dreams.
Consider three critical steps to move you toward a healthier spiritual life. The first is to keep it simple. Set one behavior that you will implement every day that takes 10 minutes. Maybe it is praying for 10 minutes straight, or maybe it is reading a chapter from the Bible that takes 10 minutes. The second is to recruit a friend. Find someone who will climb the mountain with you. Finally, set a milestone. Instead of looking a year down the road, just look a month down the road. If your goal was to pray 10 minutes every day for one person, then your milestone would be 30 people by Feb. 1.
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). You were designed for eternity. There is nothing you will do today that is more important than setting your mind on things that are above by spending time with Jesus and encouraging a friend to do the same.
You are guaranteed not to accomplish your New Year’s resolutions to get healthy spiritually if you never get started. And if you are also determined to lose that weight, pray for your first 10 minutes on that elliptical. Let’s Go!