Happy Half-Year!
Believe it or not, it’s already June. We’re six months into 2017.
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Let’s reminisce about the time we all personified 2016 and hated it with a passion for all the mean, mean things it did. We looked hopefully toward 2017. Has 2017 treated us well? I can’t tell.
How are you doing? How are your New Year’s resolutions holding up? Are you still faithfully working on them? Did you make it to the end of February? Did they flee from your mind 24 hours after counting down the new year? Or did you not even bother to make any because you were sure you’d forget about them?
I’m not going to make fun of you for not being able to stick to your new plans from January 1st. I’m actually more inclined to making fun of you for making New Year’s resolutions at all.
I’m wary of New Year’s resolutions. I’m very aware that the day change from December 31st to January 1st holds no real power. The symbolism of one calendar year turning over to another doesn’t make anyone magically capable of changing their life.
The only magic power December 31st has is that the end of a chunk of time tends to force people toward self-reflection. At the end of the year, you have the entire year to "look back on," pushing you to consider ways to make the next year better.
No wonder New Year’s resolutions are famous for not being kept: When you only practice self-reflection and self-discipline 1/365th of the year, you’re bound to fall short.
So here’s my proposition: make a resolution now.
How are you doing this time of the year? What’s wrong? What could be better? Do you want to eat healthier? Do you wish you’d be kinder to the people around you? Do you think your life would be better if you journaled daily? Do you want to set a discipline of praying every day?
When things get hard, I tend to hunker down and think, “Well. This will get better eventually.” But, in my experience, good change never happens from ignoring issues and making easy choices. Things get better when you tackle what’s wrong. Change never feels good at first, but sticking to it will yield good results.
So do it. Make some Half-Year’s resolutions. Make some Thursday’s resolutions; make August’s resolutions. You don’t have to wait for a “good time” to make a change. Make a change now.
