New Year’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because it gives me an opportunity to take a quick glance into people’s lives and find out what makes them tick. Few men start off the New Year with prayer and fasting, most find themselves positioned to break another year of resolutions. There are even a group of guys that refuse to make resolutions to avoid the heartache of breaking it.
I’ve always wondered what thoughts transpired in the minds of each of these men as they chose their direction for the year. Do those deciding not to make a resolution, so they can’t break it, realize that they are making a choice to be passive at the beginning of the year? Figuratively speaking, whether it is Aristotelian physics at play or Newton’s theory of motion, we all know that it’s very hard for a passive man to become active.
Once a man gives up the reins of his life to chance or the whim of others, he pretty much sentences himself to despair. That is unless he is willing at some point to apply a tremendous amount of effort to turn the table on his decision. It actually takes less energy to paint a vision and work toward it from the beginning.
Then there are the men who decide to be proactive in their new 2010 life. They set several goals and end up in one of two categories. The one group being those who set unrealistic expectations that will disappoint themselves because they never really considered their heart – Most trying to fulfill other people’s goals rather than their own.
The second group is made up of those who set somewhat lofty goals, trusting that something will change in order to help them achieve it. These are the guys who talk about shooting for the moon so they at least make it over the fence. I never could relate to that one. However, there is a song I like that talks about having a dream big enough to fail unless God is in it.
Chasing after God in the first part of the year is indeed a great idea. Getting his perspective on our lives and bringing focus to what he wants us to accomplish makes sense. After all, he is the only one who knows how the year will play out. The irony of prayer and fasting at the beginning of the year is that it puts most men out of their comfort zone.
Certainly we all need to stretch our comfort zone from time to time. But introducing a new activity or set of unknowns into the mix may only make goal setting more difficult. However, the positive thing about kicking off the New Year with prayer and fasting is its spiritual context of bringing the body back into discipline after some have acted like a lazy glutton or couch potato during the holidays.
I’m all for prayer and fasting during the first two weeks of the New Year followed by two weeks of my new normal activities to re-establish my comfort zones. Then by the first of February, I’m ready to plan out the next eleven months of goals and activities based on a healthy perspective.
Some have suggested to me that I prepare my goals before the New Year and then enter into prayer and fasting for confirmation. I choose to seek God’s perspective up front and try to get myself inline with him, rather than asking him to bless my choices. Granted, I have to deal with several who will pester me about my resolutions because they feel it needs to be made in January, but I don’t let it get to me. Besides, I’ve learned that ramping up to my goals allows me to achieve far more of them than the man who demands the resolutions are determined before the year opens.
I’ve also learned that by the time I’m working my plan, most men have given up on theirs. They have endured the pressure of negative comments regarding their faults and previous failures, while I’m quietly ramping up unnoticed. Six months down the road, many men are working hard to turn the tables and get life back on track, while I’m halfway through my plan, minus a few bumps along the way.
I’m convinced that there is a lot to be said for avoiding the hype of a resolution and just setting your feet to a path you take one step at a time. I learned back at age twelve that life will turn sour and those who keep taking one step at a time will end up on the other side of their problems. Oh, it isn’t quick or fun, but you do arrive.
So, if you are interested in my resolutions for 2010, feel free to ask me sometime around Valentine’s Day. Not only will I have the answer for you, but I’ll already be working it. Happy New Year!
