New Year, New Habits

The new year brings with it the promise of new opportunity and invites us to set our intention towards growth. However, the classic resolution paradigm can be problematic for our sense of self. If we are only motivated by achieved outcomes, we internalize a sense of failure when we fall short of those desired outcomes. And if we are being honest with ourselves, how many of those new year’s resolutions actually materialize? Having goals is a good and healthy way to start the year, but when are are outcome driven, we miss out on celebrating the growth we experience by working hard and creating a lifestyle around prioritizing something that is good for us. As people of faith, we know that God is at work in the struggles of our lives to produce spiritual fruit. If we are only focused on measurable outcomes and weigh our sense of accomplishment against those declared numbers or goals, we miss God’s work in the struggle towards growth.