Sunday, December 28, 2008

Resolve: Not Just a Carpet Cleaner
It's that time of year again. Around this time of year I tend to set goals and make resolutions that I have absolutely no intention of keeping. I usually set mediocre goals so that when I fail, it's not such a big deal. If I say that I plan on eating healthy for a week and then only make it 10 minutes, it's not as bad as if the original goal had been for a year. Yes, I basically set myself up for failure each year.
But this year I've been thinking about my time and how I spend it. A few weeks ago I taught a lesson to the women at church about unity and how sacrifice can bring us closer together. I had read about the early pioneers of the church tithing their time - one out of every ten days was given to the Lord to work on the temple. And I wondered - how would my life be different if I tithed my time?
I can't really give a full day every ten days, but what if I tithed the hours of my day? What if I gave 10% of my time each day to the Lord? It comes out to 2 hours and 24 minutes. How would I be different if I did this?
Then I started thinking about how I spend my time during the day. I have about 16-17 hours each day where I am awake and functioning (well, semi-functioning). Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less. Those hours are squandered on trivial things. Things that don't improve me. Things that don't bring joy to my life or the life of my family. Things that keep me from progressing in any way, shape or form. It makes me sad to think that I don't feel a sense of purpose in my life at this time.
And so, it's time to become resolute.
I can't afford to set myself up to fail again this year. I could opt to just not set any goals (I've done that before) but I feel compelled to do something this year. I'm tired of sitting around watching life pass me by.
Last year I had hoped to lose 10 pounds. The year has passed me by and I still have those 10 pounds (plus a few extra). The time passed and I did nothing. I don't want to look back on another year and wonder what I accomplished with my time.
And so, as usual, I turn to you by bloggin buddies: Do you set goals or resolutions with the new year? If so, how do you keep yourself motivated to follow through?

7 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I don't really set resolutions because I find that most people, myself included, don't really follow through with them. So, I do choose some things I want to work on, and I try to improve in those areas in my life. Even if I don't lose 25 pounds, if I am lighter and healthier than the year before, that is an accomplishment.

flip flop mama said...

I'm not a resolution person either. I just try to do things throughout the year. Set little goals that I know I'll be able to reach and then work toward the bigger ones. Good luck. I like the idea of tithing your day.

Adena and Greg said...

I usually only set one or two goals at a time. and I try to do it year-round. That way it isn't so overwhelming. I also set a big goal, then break it down into more manageable mini-goals. Ex; lose 10lbs is the big goal. small goals might be to eat 4 servings of vegetables daily, work out for 45 min 4x a week or something like that.

Yvonne said...

Oh, melissa, you always get me thinking. Great post.

I've been thinking about setting goals for this new year. I so want to do better than last year. I'm going to try short term goals--things to work on each month. Maybe that will work ; )

Tonya said...

I tend to set goals for myself for the year but I rarely get many of the accomplished.

Your post really has me thinking though. If we did give that time to the Lord each day I'm sure it would change us in ways we can't imagine. Do you thinking working on your calling would count? :o)

Shannan said...

It's funny that you wrote about this, because just last night, I was thinking how I spend an awful lot of time on taking care of the business side of being a mom, and not much time on things that will improve me or bring me closer to my girls. I have thought about resolving to have more fun with my children, and not worry so much about the cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.

... said...

i'm like you, i'm not a goal setter (never have been) because i feel like i just set myself up for failure.

but... i need to get my eating to a healthier level and lose some weight (due to diabetes) and i have resolved (yuk!) to get to a gym on a regular basis and be more disciplined with my eating habits.