We are approaching the new year, and with it comes those silly resolutions. I used to have such lists for myself: eat healthy, exercise daily, read the Bible in its entirety, read a book every week, learn to do something (crochet, knit, ski, and who knows what else), write a book (or two), make straight As in school, etc. Those are all things I'd still like to do, or at least improve upon, but I go through the same pattern every year: make goals, put them off for a week, succeed for a few days, then fail and scrap all of them.
A lot of instruction on achieving goals tells you to make them tangible, practical, and somewhat achievable, to outline them in a shape you can actually figure out. For me, however, this doesn't work. I have learned, over time, that I must set a goal that is an idea--to be healthy, or happy, or always moving forward--and then within moments, I figure out which course of action best suits that goal. Literal achievements tire me out, makes me panic when I do not achieve the exact goal I hoped for. But achieving some kind of state of being? That fills me up.
So as I approach this new year, my resolution is simple and yet one of the hardest things in the world to do: I want to be joyful. I want to live a joy-filled life and to share joy.
Exactly how I'll do that remains to be seen.
The mini bus roll poster is by K. Barteski, available here. One of these days I'll buy it.
1 comment:
Love this image! Oddly, I didn't write any resolutions for the new year (which I start on my birthday). I have my word for the year, and I know the general quality of life I want to live -- and for me too, joy is a big part. I'm working toward that. So here's to more reading, more time outdoors, more joy, more meaning...
Post a Comment