6 Ways to Maintain Your New Year's Resolution

My Bedroom

I love starting over at the new year! New Years is always a great time to re-organize your life, break old habits, and form better patterns. Of course, after the newness of the year wears off, it is easy to forsake the goals you made only a few weeks ago. Here are some ways you can maintain your resolution throughout the year.

☆Be Realistic. Sometimes we imagine an overly perfect lifestyle that our mistake-prone nature cannot keep up with. Or, perhaps we create an extremely long list that is too overwhelming and intimidating to follow through with. Make goals that you know you can keep. 

☆ Be Specific. Saying "I want to read 2 books a month" rather than "I want to read more" will increase your chances of actually doing what you say you want to do. Adding times and numbers adds pressure to your goal. 

☆ Get Accountability. Share resolutions with a friend over coffee. They can even tell you if your list seems too hard for an entire year. Set a time and day each week/month that you can check in on each other's progress. 

☆ Write it Out. Writing your resolution out on pretty paper with a big font will better ingrain your goals into your mind and make them "official". You can then post your resolution on the mirror, in your car, or on your refrigerator as a reminder. 

☆ Give it to God. Pray over your list asking God to take over your plans. You cannot accomplish anything without Him. He establishes your steps and controls your life. 

☆ Expect Failure. While you can do great things through Christ, we are only human. There will be days, even weeks, where you will fall back into old habits. When this happens to me, I usually say "forget it" and throw away my entire resolution. Do not do this! WHEN you fall down, get back on your horse and keep riding. You will do much better messing up a few times throughout the year than giving up half way through. 

Although a fresh start at the new year is nice, we have a fresh start in Christ every day! His mercies are new every morning. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17  

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3  

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

                             ☎︎

                                 The Girl Next Door