Resolution. It’s the word of the hour. Across the country people are resolving to eat less, play more, and get organized. It’s almost become trendy to NOT make resolutions. The word “resolution” gets a lot of bad press. Failed attempts, unkept promises, and the risk of failure prevent many from setting out to make changes.

When you look at the word resolution, what it really means is that you’ve made a decision. You’ve decided to take action. A resolution implies determination. It’s something we want – something we yearn for.

When I sit down each January to make my list of goals, I take time to reflect. I stop and consider the following questions:

  • Who do I want to be?
  • What do I want my family to look like? What types of behaviors, patterns, activities, do I want to see in my family?
  • What do I want my marriage to look like?
  • What do I want to learn? Try?
  • What do I need to change about myself?
  • How can I improve in my work? Life? Spiritual life? Relationships?
  • Are there any negative habits/behaviors I need to stop?
  • What am I doing that is working?
  • What parts of my life feel out of control?

It’s an exciting exercise – this figuring out who we want to be, how we want our life to play out, and what steps we need to take to get there. It’s a time for dreaming. It’s a time for planning. It’s a chance. A fresh start. A new beginning.

I absolutely love Anne of Green Gables. I remember  Marilla telling Anne that “tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.” Right now, your year is fresh with no mistakes in it. (Or at least not very many!) You get to start over. You get to try new things. You get to go for it. And I think that’s pretty darn exciting.

My first year teaching, I had a mentor teacher who told me something valuable. She said that if there were any changes you needed/wanted to make in the classroom, the only time of year your students would buy into it, was after winter break. As I think about it now, I think the same thing applies in our daily life. January is like a natural reset. It’s a fresh start – a chance to begin again.

What will you change this year? Who are you going to be? What will you learn? What will you try? Hit that reset button and start again.