New Year’s Day has come and gone.
The holiday season is now over and we are well into the new year. Most likely, you have settled back into your normal routine by now. What about your New Year’s resolutions? How are those going? Did you even make any new resolutions for this year?
If you did, I hope you are sticking to them. I hope you are winning the battle for your new legacy every day you face the temptation to return to your old habits. If you have not been winning, it is therefore time to make the change. You obviously made decisions to change because you KNOW you need to make changes in your life. The struggle is real. You know what you need to do, but you do not do it.
New Year’s Day has come and gone.
Today is the first day of the rest of this year. It doesn’t have to be January 1st for you to make a decision and stick to it. Don’t wait for the next New Year’s Day to act. Start today. The first step is stop thinking of them as New Year’s Resolutions (NYR). That phrase is associated with so many negative outcomes- most people don’t keep their NYR, they are only made at the beginning of a new year, and they are only for that year. When you start thinking differently about changes in your lifestyle, you will be more successful at winning the battle against your old habits.
The first word we are going to change is Resolutions. They are GOALS. You are going to make goals you can keep. You are going to make goals focused on building your family stronger. When you make goals that affect your entire family, you will attack the negative routines as a family, and be more successful in achieving your goals together. A strong, healthy family can be formed—even in the midst of incarceration. Thus do not let anyone tell you differently. Your family is the most important thing you have, and it is just as valuable as anyone else’s family. Your family is worth all your efforts to stabilize and strengthen.
We decided to work on our basement last summer. The idea of a family room where we could all gather was so appealing. I couldn’t wait to redo the basement! We began working on a wooden wall after we saw a picture of a beautiful family room with one wall that was all wood. Then, we decided we wanted to put boards from wood pallets on one of the walls in our basement.
You will need a piece of paper and a pencil. Grab one now—I will wait 😊
Ok – write this down in caps at the top of your paper: MY FAMILY IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING I HAVE. WE ARE WORTH SAVING.
Next, list 10 things you want to change to help your family become more resilient and strong. Perhaps it is to wake up earlier, read more, eat meals together, play games together, stop yelling, stop using foul language, stop gossiping, stop complaining…… Make your list. Then circle the top 3 things that are in most need of change in your family. Your family’s worst habits and also the solution to changing them should be the top 3. Now, these are your family’s top goals for the next 3 months. After 3 months, add 3 more goals to work on for the next 3 months. Do this every three months – forever.
Every time you add a new change, you are thus making your family stronger as individuals and as a family unit. You are also setting a new course for family: a continuous improvement plan. This foundation will then contribute to building a new legacy for your family.
Time to get GROWING as a family. Do not let another day go by—change your family’s lives today.
I am rooting for you!
Cathy