A New Way to Approach the New Year
I am generally not very disciplined, “wing it” a lot, and do things based on “if I feel like it” or “it’s due TONIGHT”. So it is often difficult for me to get all the things that I want or have to do done. That would frustrate me. I would feel guilty when I’m not doing something that appears to be productive. I have measured myself or the value of my day based on how productive it was.
But I have found myself at the feet of God multiple times acknowledging and confessing that I had made an idol out of productivity- and He has been so gracious to me. He knows that being productive is not going to give me joy or peace; accomplishing all the things isn’t going to make me a better person, or enable me to be a blessing to my family or those around me.
He reminds me that He is the true source of peace and joy and that connecting with Him enables me to become a better person and bless those around me.
I can still do practical things to grow, or use tools to manage my time better, but it is with a different kind of mindset or approach than just the white knuckling, which is exhausting.
So as I’ve been pondering, thinking, and praying about the direction for this year, God has been showing me this: Consider being PURPOSEFUL vs PRODUCTIVE.
What does that mean?
Putting all I do in the light of purpose changes how I approach it and gives meaning to the tasks I do.
Going to the idea of goals or resolutions, I think one of the reasons we have a hard time following through is that the purpose is unclear. This affects the goal we set and the way we go about it. We set big long-term goals like “lose 50lbs this year” or a big daily goal like “Exercise for 1 hour every day”. But do we truly have a purpose for this, or just feel “I should do this?
This month I am focusing on doing core exercises most days, which I am recording on my goal tracker. I color the box on my tracker every day that I do it.
I could approach it as: “I know we SHOULD do core exercises, so I have to do core exercises every day”. There is the feeling that “it’s something I am supposed to do”. Then I’m annoyed with myself when I haven’t got it in.
But looking at it with the purpose says:
”I am building my core strength and stability a few bricks at a time. Every day that I do the exercises I am adding to that building”. (Due to some back issues, it is super important for me to strengthen and train my core muscles to “do their job”.)
On days that I don’t do it, I can look at myself and say “I haven’t been able to add any bricks today” rather than look at myself as inefficient or as having failed.
And I can be more intentional to add some bricks tomorrow.
Then there will be seasons where I may have to say “Right now, I can only add 1-2 daily bricks” or even “The work has to be on hold”- NOTE: it’s not going to be left as a condemned building- it’s just on hold.
So I invite you to think about the PURPOSE that you want to do something this year.
If you are a praying person, ask God to show you, to direct you.
And let it be a year that you are not just checking off boxes, but are getting closer to accomplishing those things that you truly want to, or need to do.