We\u2019re approaching Jan. 1, which means … New Year\u2019s resolutions!<\/p>\n
Whether you make them or not, there\u2019s something about a new year that means a<\/p>\n
fresh start. <\/p>\n
Maybe 2012 was your best year yet, or maybe it was a year you\u2019d<\/p>\n
rather just forget altogether. Even though resolutions often end up broken by<\/p>\n
Valentine\u2019s Day (the parking lot at the gym on Feb. 14 is a way different<\/p>\n
story than Jan. 2), I think there\u2019s something worthwhile about setting<\/p>\n
goals. Not crazy, unattainable goals that you make in a moment of panic about<\/p>\n
the coming year, but realistic goals that provide some accountability for<\/p>\n
living with intention. They say that everyone ends up somewhere, but not<\/p>\n
everyone ends up somewhere on purpose.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t tend to make a lot of resolutions in January, but I<\/p>\n
do reflect in July, when I celebrate my birthday. Some years I\u2019ve grown and<\/p>\n
changed so much that I hardly recognize the girl from the year before, and<\/p>\n
other years I feel like I\u2019m just an older, more tired version of who I was. So<\/p>\n
this past year, when I hit the big 3-0, I didn\u2019t want the year to go by without<\/p>\n
accomplishing some specific goals. I copied a friend\u2019s idea and made a 31-by-31<\/p>\n
list. I came up with 31 things I wanted to do by the time I turn 31 next<\/p>\n
summer. <\/p>\n
I posted it on my blog as a way to keep myself accountable<\/p>\n
to it. Some things were simple and even silly: try eating fish (I have never<\/p>\n
liked seafood), achieve gold status at Starbucks (accomplished, thanks to the<\/p>\n
pumpkin spice latte), become a better packer (I end up at my destination with nothing that matches). Others were more serious, but<\/p>\n
still attainable: journal every day for a month, plan a really great surprise,<\/p>\n
write the children\u2019s book series I\u2019ve been talking about since college. I<\/p>\n
printed the list and keep it in my planner so that every few weeks I can see<\/p>\n
the progress I\u2019ve made and what I still need to tackle.<\/p>\n
I know I probably won\u2019t accomplish all 31 items, and I\u2019m OK<\/p>\n
with that. The point of the list isn\u2019t to guilt myself into doing and being more, <\/em>but to live this year with<\/p>\n intention. To end up somewhere good on purpose. <\/p>\n I love the way Shauna Niequist describes it in her book Cold Tangerines<\/em>, and I read it every<\/p>\n January to remind myself that this is how I want to start the year. <\/p>\n We could<\/p>\n just live our normal, day-to-day lives, saving all the good living up for<\/p>\n someday, but I think today, just plain today, is worth it. I think it\u2019s our<\/p>\n job, each of us, to live each day like it\u2019s a special occasion, because we\u2019ve<\/p>\n been given a gift. We get to live in this beautiful world. When I live<\/p>\n purposefully and well, when I dance instead of sitting it out, when I let<\/p>\n myself laugh hard, when I wear my favorite shoes on a regular Tuesday, that<\/p>\n regular Tuesday is better.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What\u2019s your take on New Year\u2019s resolutions? Do you make and keep them?\u00a0 What helps you set and<\/p>\n then actually achieve the goals you set?<\/p>\n <\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re approaching Jan. 1, which means … New Year\u2019s resolutions! Whether you make them or not, there\u2019s something about a new year that means a fresh start. Maybe 2012 was your best year yet, or maybe it was a year you\u2019d rather just forget altogether. Even though resolutions often end up broken by Valentine\u2019s Day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12250","blog","type-blog","status-publish","hentry","category-spiritual-growth"],"yoast_head":"\n\n