Resolutions.
Whenever a New Year rolls around, lengthy resolutions, changes, and goals for
the new year dominate many people’s minds and contemplation time. In our
family, we have a tradition of gathering around the fireplace at midnight, chatting about what went right, what went wrong, what the major disappointments
and major thrills and accomplishments were of the freshly-eulogized year and
then compile a list of all of the things we’d like to accomplish in the
freshly-inaugurated year. We laugh a lot and get introspective. Then we take turns praying about those goals we feel
God has led our hearts to pursue. We pray for ourselves and for one another.
The problem is that most people have
trashed or failed miserably with their resolutions by the end of the first
month of the year. Why is that? Did they pick the wrong ones? Did they not make
the right plans to achieve them? Were they too ambiguous, without concrete
plans for achievement? Did they set themselves up for failure the moment they
put pen to paper? Did they take a wrong route that resulted in them getting
hopelessly stuck, unable to break free? Are they simply so mired in poor
behaviors that they find change impossible?
In his great book, Getting Unstuck: 7 Steps to Freedom,
former Family Life Radio host Lee Escobedo outlines steps you can take to
succeed at setting reasonable goals and achieving change and control over your
life. Changes that will last you well beyond this year.
Escobedo, who describes himself as a
personal development coach, says the first thing you should do is identify
three things in your life you’d like to accomplish. And he stresses that you
should arrive at that list after much prayer.
After identifying the three things,
you then need to ask: Why do I think I
haven’t been able to accomplish those three things? Be honest. Our first
reaction might be to come up with a list of excuses, or say, “Gee, I don’t
know.” But if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll quickly arrive at the correct
answers. If you really can’t come up with the answers, I suggest you ask a
loved one, a significant other, or a trusted friend. They’ll probably know the
answer. Give them the space to be honest, and listen carefully to what they
tell you, without being defensive about their response. Listen, take it and
ponder it.
Then ask yourself another question: If I could eliminate my obstacles, how would
my life change? Take some time to think about and answer this one.
Then come up with something concrete
you can do quickly to change your life. That boosts your determination level
and makes you feel more self-confident and able to achieve those goals and make
those necessary changes. It’s positive mental reinforcement, and it's the first baby step to accomplishing more complex goals.
Escobedo stresses that the most
important things you do are centered on improving your relationship with God,
others, and yourself, so focus on those first and foremost. He thinks we spend
so much time in negative self-talk that we never get started and sabotage
ourselves. We compile a list of excuses before we even get out of the starting
block. And our failure becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.
And Escobedo also emphasizes that
this process is ongoing. You keep pursuing, changing, growing and having fresh
experiences.
But there are seven points you
always need to face up to and keep in mind:
1. You have to want to change.
2. You have to
take responsibility for yourself.
3. You have to
refuse to give into temptation.
4. You have to
continually cooperate with God in your transformation.
5. You have to
be humble and dependent upon God—all of the time.
6. You have to
realize that temptation never goes away.
7. You have to
keep going through the process. Like a concert musician, you never stop doing
the basics. That way they become so second nature you don’t need to think about
them. They become an integral part of you.
So if you’re ready to really make
some serious and long-lasting life changes that will stop the hurt and
destruction in your life, strengthen and improve your relationships, help you experience
health, happiness and peace of mind, and progressively prevent anything from
ruining you, then start your year new year off right with Escobedo’s
nine-chapter, 170 page goldmine. Take a fresh look at your life and make a new
start.
As Escobedo points out: You’re worth
it. Your life has meaning.
Why wait any longer?
The book is available at amazon.com. You can follow Lee Escobedo on his
inspirational blog: http://leesniteradio.com/ Or email him
directly at: gettingunstuck7steps@gmail.com
May God bless
you on your pursuit of positive, life-giving and long-lasting change, and may He prosper you greatly this year!
Blessings,
Andrea
When the eyes of the soul looking out
meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on earth. ~ A. W. Tozer
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