New Year's Resolutions!

It is around this time of year that many of us make New Year's resolutions. This is basically a list of goals or a wish list of things that we want to have or accomplish for the year. I am sure that many of you are pretty much like me when it comes to resolutions. I make a mental to do list of the things I want, for example: lose weight and get in better shape, spend more time with my family, read my scriptures every day, talk nicer to my loved ones, be less quick to become angry, use my finances more wisely, have a new wardrobe, get a new car, go on vacation this year, etc. Looking at my list, I think everything on it is okay. These are some pretty good goals to have that would not only benefit me but other people as well. However, when the New Year came around I began thinking about my resolutions and resolutions in general. Even though these are nice things to want and I can't see anything wrong in wanting them; I asked myself, "Why do I want them?"

Every year there are millions of people in the world making lists of the things that they want in life. Maybe they do not call them resolutions like we do hear, maybe they are called something else but we are all doing the same thing. We are deciding what we want and thinking of ways to get it. But I think many of us are missing an integral and very vital component when we are going through this process and that would be asking ourselves, "Why do we want it?" For instance take losing weight; do you want to lose weight because you want to have better health or do you want it because you think you should look a certain way because other people have told you that. In this case other people may be family, friends, and the media. Do you feel like you are supposed to look like the model on the cover of the magazine so you decide to lose weight? What is your motivation for losing weight?

I ask these questions because I think in order for any of us to be truly successful in achieving the goals we are so busy making, we have to first know why we want it. We not only need to know why we want it, it also needs to be personal to us. I think that when we are so busy chasing something we decide we need to have without knowing why we want it or the reason not being personal to us we either are unsuccessful at obtaining it or we are not happy when we do get it.

I want to invite you to take a moment in the midst of your resolution or goal making and really evaluate why you want what you are about to spend so much time and energy pursuing. Once you have done this I encourage you to take any goal that you are making solely because someone else makes you feel like you should have it or any other reason that is not personal and chuck it out the window without a second thought. I say this because if you don't have a real reason person to you for wanting it in the first place it will not make you happy in the end if you manage to get it. This will also leave more room for the things that you really do want and will more than likely give you true happiness not only when you receive it but while you are pursuing it as well.

I think the most likely reason we have so many failed resolution or goals is because we never really wanted it in the first place and so pursuing it only served to make us miserable. So take the time to not only think about what you want but why you want it. Once you have done this you will have placed yourself on more firm footing as you start the journey to obtaining the desires of your heart.

Good luck and God bless you on the journey.