New Year's Resolvings

I am not one for new years resolutions, partly due to the fact that I can never keep them. But 2016 will bring some pretty big changes in my life, ones that I will have to prepare for immediately. Below are three broad goals that I hope to achieve in the new year:

 

1. Get organized. I have a mild case of "Pack-Ratism" where I naturally accumulate crap. I'll clean my room on Monday only to observe it on Friday flooding with: clothes, mail, books, and half scribbled papers scattered about. Let's face it, I am a slob. And I have been fine with being a slob thus far in my life (its just been me), but increased responsibility coming in the new year (and a wife) may require me to change some bad habits in this department. What I need to do is create a system where the moment something touches my floor or my desk, I immediately place it either in a filing cabinet or in the fire place. Floor must be clear and desk must be clear. Getting organized will also require a scrupulous purging of my clothes as I just keep accumulating more (not my fault). 

My Grandpa always says, "organization is the key to success," though I still hope for my sake that that is not true (even if I do stick to some changes).   

2. Get "unplug time." The 24/7 information onslaught that modernity has brought with it has had harmful effects on us. Through social media in particular we have become information addicts and our addiction touches everything from our relationships, to our productivity, to our time, to even our ability to focus. Here is an article that speaks about this. To remedy this problem I am going to try to heavily limit my social media usage (Like two times a day limit). I am also planning on having at least an hour of intentional "unplug time" every day which means: turn the phone off, turn the TV off, turn the computer off, and maybe just get information the old school way by reading a book. Though definitely challenging, a "social media detox" may be worth putting on your new year's resolution as well. 


3. Get a vision. I am an amateur at life, and I have never been one for big changes. Nor would I describe myself as an overly ambitious guy who has ever had a clear picture of what he wants to do with his life. Well, big changes are coming in 2016 whether I like it or not--and I need to figure out what me and my wife are going to be about. What do we want to do long term? Where do we want to be?. What ministries will we be most effective in? For an indecisive guy at a pretty crucial crossroads, finding a vision will be most challenging. It will not come through some step by step process or some simplistic thinking exercise. Vision will have to come with a lot of prayer, lot of thinking, and a lot of reevaluating; and courage to not be afraid to make big changes if necessary.