Summer King
Editor
Photo by Natalie Runyon

Pop-up. Next. Ad. Ad. Next. Pop-up. Block. Next. Pop-up. Next. New recipe. New Year, new me. Next. Lose 50 lbs in three weeks. Is that even safe?

It drones on. The binary codes run their races. Over.

And.

Over.

The same thing at the start of every new year. New Year’s resolutions begin. Another day, another disappointment. Especially when you fall off the wagon. We beat ourselves up, and then we just give up. Why don’t we just

STOP.

At the beginning of 2019, I didn’t start out with a list of resolutions. I started out with a few ideas. About myself. Who I want to be as a person. The dearest idea that I came up with is that I want to be someone who follows through. If I set a goal, I want to follow through. And having this idea of myself to work on versus an otherwise unobtainable goal is more than a breath of fresh air.

How do we expect to reach our goals with no plans put in place to get there? With no accountability? We’re setting ourselves up for failure.

Sure, I do have other ideas. I don’t mind aimlessly ticking a few off here, either. I’d like to have more self-discipline. With the idea of myself being someone who follows through and has self-discipline I could easily become a rhinoceros of success. I could wake up earlier, get physical activity more regularly, journal more often, become a better steward of my finances and become more task and goal oriented. You don’t become successful by being mediocre and typical.

Also, being successful can mean something very different for everyone. For me, I was ecstatic when I successfully cut processed sugar out of my diet during my participation of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. In that, I successfully had more energy and clearer skin. I was also able to successfully lean into God when I really wanted a sugary coffee drink or a freshly baked cookie.

Perhaps New Year’s resolutions have already started to be broken, but February is a beautiful month for rebirth and new beginnings. Come up with an idea.

Get creative.

Follow through.