A new resolution

I've never been one for New Year's resolutions for various reasons.

1. I forget to make them.
2. Consequently, when I do make them I forget to keep them.
3. I get really hard on myself about them.
4. I end up the same after as I was before. So...useless.

Basically they have never worked for me. And the other day, I was wondering why. I was wondering why because I desperately needed that reset button the new year offers. Even though I push it every Sunday I am probably not completely pushing it down. It probably has some crumbs stuck in it, making it function much like the "r" on this keyboard.

So in thinking about how I could make these resolutions actually work for me, first I wondered why they weren't. As a peer mentor I learned that goals should be measurable and doable and realistic, etc., etc., etc. I had that down! So why couldn't I make good goals for myself? These kinds of goals had always worked in the past when it came to school or dance or something else fairly specific. So why wasn't it working with life goals? Why couldn't I ever seem to keep a steady journal (ironic because of my blogging capabilities yes?), or eat better, or run consistently, or study gospel related books/Sunday school lessons regularly?

I think I figured it out. It's not that my goals have to be more specific, it's that I had to connect the motivation behind them to the right place. Every resolution I want to make has to be tied to a basic belief. If I can find that belief and consciously show myself that this is why I am making the resolution, perhaps I will be better off.

If you're having trouble with your resolutions already, it may be a sign that you're not thoroughly convinced of why you're doing it. All those dieting resolutions, why are you doing them? Is it to look good? Why do you want to look good? Maybe you're basing that resolution in pride and that's not going to last as long. Maybe re-examine that dieting resolution and decide to diet so that you feel better or so that you are showing respect to the body God gave you. If that's what you think of when you try to keep the resolution, maybe it will stick more. I know when my motivation for eating well was to feel good, I was much more apt to eat well.

Just keep asking yourself questions until you get to the belief, to the prime number truth of why you are making that resolution. Because if that truth doesn't hold up in your set of beliefs, it sure isn't going to last long.

All that being said, here are my general resolutions.

1. Be happy where I am. I'm here for a reason and I don't have to know what it is.

• Based on belief: Men are that they might have joy. God has a plan for me. 

2. Take care of my body. Eat what it wants, exercise it. 

• Based on belief: I came to Earth specifically to get this body, it is a direct link with God. I need to appreciate it as the sacred thing that it is. 

3. Care about other people. 

• Based on belief: "And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."