I have never been huge on New Years Resolutions. I am blessed to not be overweight. I am in ok shape. I could eat better and exercise more, and that is always on the table, but I don't really have any huge things that I need to resolve to accomplish.
I do, however, have some goals for this upcoming year. But before I get into that, I heard a very interesting concept surrounding New Years Resolutions. Many people set them and many people fail at them. (Which is probably why I do not set them) So instead of having goals to reach, or maybe just in addition to goals, have a theme set for the upcoming year. Themes such as "deeper," where the goal is to deepen relationships with the people in your life and with God. Maybe the theme is "stronger," or "generosity," or "patience," but whatever it is, it is much easier to attain a theme than it is specific goals. When goals aren't met, the atitude of failure kicks in, and since most people don't like failure, the goals gets left behind. With a theme, it isn't pass/fail, but rather just be and do. I like that.
That being said, one of my themes will be below (see number four), but here are my 2012 goals:
One: Read more. I have set a fairly high goal of reading 50 books between Christmas 2011 and New Years Day 2013. I am usually a 10 book a year guy, so this really ups the ante quite a bit. I am doing this because I do not have the drive, money, or time to go back to school, but I want to learn. Reading books allows me to do this and to be a bit more selective about what it is I get to learn about. Besides, I never really thrived in college, and my wife needs to finish her degree before I even consider a Master's degree.
Two: Write more. This is even a more daunting task for me to consider. I despised English classes in school, and I never was great at communicating my thoughts through writing. My wife, on the other hand, excels at this. I am much better at talking about things and expressing myself that way. But since I do not have an audience at all hours of the day, I feel that a good outlet for me to help retain what I am learning, and also sharpen my skills, is writing. So, this is as good a place as any to hone that skill.
Three: Read through the Bible. I have not done this in a year since college, although I have read the Bible a few times since college. I do not plan on following a reading schedule, but rather reading something every day that has an impact on me. I plan on reading until I get something out of it, put it down, and pick it up the next day and read until I get something out of it, and keep repeating this 366 times. My hope is that I get through the entire Bible, but I will not be entirely upset if it doesn't happen.
Four: Be more intentionally generous. God has blessed me, and not just for me. I need to be more generous with my resources, and that doesn't mean money. I have joy, peace, time, ears to listen, advice, compassion and many other things that I can give away on a daily basis, and I have failed miserably doing so. This year I would like to change that.
Happy New Year!!!! I believe that 2012 is going to be a good one!!!
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