Before the year ends, some of us tries to come up with our own New Year's Resolution. New Year's Eve has always been the best time to reflect and look back on our past and also look forward to the coming year as well. For some, it seems quite easy to come up with a resolution. But, it is not a question of how fast you can come up with just even one. The question is, are they realistic? How committed are you in fulfilling them?
Believe it or not, many resolutions are doomed to fail because there are already flaws from the start. I'd be a hypocrite if I tell you that I was able to religiously fulfill my resolutions. Of course, resolutions are much easier to make than to keep. But, how do you start making one and keeping them?
On New Year's day, the priest's sermon is all about New Year's Resolution. It’s one of the most interesting sermons I’ve heard. He mentioned two principles that really caught my attention.
Begin with the end in mind. Hearing this principle brings me back to my postgraduate school days. The principle was coined by Stephen Covey and is one of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As I listened to the priest, I realized that the principle applies basically to everything that we do.
What does it really mean? It is to envision yourself using your mind to see what your eyes cannot see at present. It is to visualize who you are and what you want in life and direct yourself towards your desired goal or destination and make things happen.
Start with a goal and then plan on how you can fulfill it. However, you need to make sure that they are realistic. If you are able to come up with a number of resolutions, that's alright. But it is best to pick one and concentrate on it. If you try to take on too much, you are likely to fail.
Next, make sure that you are committed to reach your goal. You may have a plan but if you're not into it, might as well forget it. Commitment entails change. Change does not happen in a blink of an eye; it may take years. This is where the second principle comes into play. As the priest said, “the only person you can change is yourself”. It is important to start within you and everything will follow. It doesn’t matter how slow you go in reaching your goals. What’s important is that you don’t stop.
The picture above is a list of my resolutions. Number one is on-going and I started doing it since 2008. I did better in 2010 since I only missed one Sunday mass compared to last year. Still, I'm determined to continue it.
Saving money can be hard especially if you have to sacrifice a lot of things that you enjoy. As for me, I was able to save a few and it is a good start. I have to learn to be more thrifty. The rest are new resolutions that I want to be able to accomplish. Slowly but surely.
Reaching your goal means commitment. Commitment means change. One cannot do without the other.
A new year offers another opportunity to make a goal, to commit and to change. I know it is not easy. So, are you up for a challenge?
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