Begin Anew
A study by Statista shows that in the United States, the top ten New Year's resolutions in 2025 included: to exercise more, save more money, eat healthier, spend more time with family and friends, lose weight, do more for the environment, improve performance on the job, reduce stress on the job, spend less time on social media, and quit smoking.¹ Pretty much what you expected, right? They are all good and noble things to do and I’m sure that any of them may have a positive impact on your life. However, another study by DriveResearch, indicates that only eight percent of those who make resolutions will follow through on them and 23% quit by the end of the first week.²
Psychology Today suggests some of the most common reasons people fail to follow through are an all-or-nothing attitude, their goals are vague or unrealistic, or that they don’t have an understanding of their why.³ Most people have heard about setting SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This method can be effective if you tend to set goals that are vague or unrealistic, but this is a little bit like a band-aid. If your downfall is that you have an all-or-nothing attitude, that is, you give up as soon as you slip-up, that’s a difficult one to overcome. You must be kinder to yourself. Know that God wants you to succeed. Every day is a new day and you can start over again. Often the greatest successes come from what we learn in failure. The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT)
What is critical to success is knowing why you want to achieve your goal. Might I suggest a more holistic approach…living intentionally. Living intentionally starts with understanding what you value. When you focus on what is intrinsically important to you, your why is more easily identified. And with a clear why, the work is easier. It involves being more mindful and present in your daily activities, not being on “autopilot,” and purposefully aligning your choices with your beliefs. You will still want to set short-term and long-term goals, but through self-awareness and introspection make slight modifications as you go. Making adjustments allows you to grow at your own speed, discover what works and what doesn’t work, keep aligned with your values, be kind to yourself, and succeed. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
In Romans 6:4, the Apostle Paul writes, Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. In the “newness” of 2026, I hope you find great success with whatever your New Year’s resolutions may be and if you don’t yet know our Lord, that you will find trust in Christ for your salvation.
Feel free to leave your thoughts on living intentionally or just let us know what goals you have for the upcoming year.
