Mid-Year Resolutions

This week, we'll be celebrating the 4th of July, and there will be sure to be fireworks a plenty.  About 6 months ago, we celebrated another holiday, quite possibly with fireworks - New Years.  Many of you may have been at a party, others perhaps at a concert winding down with Auld Lang Syne, while others might have sat quietly at home watching Carson Daily make a tool of himself while waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square.  Regardless of circumstances, countless people around the world had the common denominator of the infamous New Year resolution(s).

Fortunately for this young lady, these glasses
will come in handy again in the year 4102

While I am hesitant to use the term "resolution," I'll admit that I use the time to set some goals for the year.  Not so much a "I'm going to stop this," or "I'm going to start this," but rather look at how I can improve what I'm already doing.  For me personally, this mentality makes it easier to check on these goals throughout the year.  Because isn't that the problem with most resolutions?  They tend to fall apart about a month into the New Year.

So, this 4th of July weekend, after you've done your patriotic duty of eating lots of BBQ and ice cream, followed by blowing mini craters out of your back yard, I want to encourage you to hop into the time machine and re-live New Years 2014.  If you made a resolution, how are you doing?  Have you kept it?  If not, what can you do to get back on track?  If you didn't make one, why not do it now?  When you think about it, do you really need the calendar to read January in order to resolve something?  Besides, if you're afraid of making a resolution for fear of being a conformist, I'm sure there aren't too many people making July resolutions - that practically guarantees hipster status!

My wife and I were two months into our marriage in January.  So for us, we weren't just setting annual goals, it was an ideal time for us to start making some life goals.  In the next few moments, I want to review three areas we talked about.  I won't necessarily share the specifics of our goals (despite all the time we both spend on social media, we like to enjoy some level of privacy), but rather look at why these are important areas for everyone to be evaluating on a regular basis.

Fitness

This is probably the biggest bugaboo for most people. I'm sure there's like a hundred Buzzfeed lists for most popular New Years resolutions and least kept resolutions, and working out/losing weight is at the top of each one.  I'm not going to waste my time or yours trying to prove this through case studies and surveys - the proof is in the gym.  I'm proud to say I exercise year-round, and there's a noticeable spike in attendance from the last week of December to the first week of January.  Those numbers always plummet 3 weeks into January. 

Being healthy is not only reasonable, it's rational.  We only get one body on this side of Heaven, so it's in our best interest to take care of it.  Unfortunately, I feel many of these resolutions are ill-planned, and that's why they fade.  I'm not here to tell you the magic diet or workout that everyone should do in January.  That's nonsense, and in fact, if you hear about any 2-week weight loss programs, I recommend you run in the opposite direction.  My only suggestions for resolving to get into shape are as follows:

1. Be specific.  You want to lose weight - how much?  You want to get more muscle - what do you want to bench?  You want to run faster - what do you want your 40 yard dash to be?  Be specific, but be realistic too.  And give yourself time, which leads me to...
2. Develop good habits.  Even when crash diets achieve their claim of dropping x-amount of weight in x-amount of time, they don't last long because they ask people to do things they can't keep up over the long haul.  So I wouldn't set a 2-week goal, but a year-long goal, with maybe a few benchmarks along the way.  The point is when you hit your goal, you want to maintain it as well.

So, if you're ashamed of yourself because you ate one too many hot dogs this weekend, it's not too late to start asking what reasonable steps you can take to move in the right direction.

Financial

If there's one color everyone seems to love, it's the color green.  If we're honest with ourselves, there's never really enough.  While I'm not advocating a "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentality, I do think this is an area worth cultivating some wisdom.  We all have bills to pay, and we should have assets set aside, both for the short and long term.

How have you been doing this year financially?  Do you feel like you have all your needs met with some buffer room to spare, or do you feel like you're trying to just keep yourself afloat?  Either way, a self-audit is not a bad idea, regardless of time of year.  What are your spending habits? What are some unfavorable circumstances you keep finding yourself getting into?

Everyone's financial scenario is different, so we all can't have the same goals.  But here are some broad principles to consider when making your fiscal resolutions:

1. What's my budget?  If you don't have a monthly budget, now's a good time to start.  As I said before, it will vary for each person, but it's something we can all do.  Already budgeting?  Look at the monthly budget - notice any trends you can modify?
2. What's my debt?  We love the line on a bill that says "minimum amount due."  "What's the least I have to pay on this debt so I can have more fun now?"  May I challenge you to do the opposite - pay the max?  Not pay the balance in full (that would be crazy), but "what's the most I can pay ahead on this loan where I'll still have my daily needs met?"
3. What can I save?  Is it about time for a new car?  Are you looking to make that leap from apartment to home living?  Even on a more mundane scale, what's that one appliance you want that seems just about $100 out of reach every time you look at it?  Start setting aside money each month and lay out a timeline of when you'll have enough to go after that item.
4. What can I give (probably should have been first)?  For the Christian, are you doing your part in supporting your home church?  For those who may not be as definitive in their faith at this point in their lives (more on that later), do you really need every penny you get?  Let's lay faith aside for a moment and let me ask you - can you think of one charity you could give at least $10 a month to?

Money is one of those things that seems to be here one moment, gone the next.  Making good fiscal resolutions can help prepare for those moments when it seems to be gone.

Faith

What we believe defines who we are.  Whether we realize it or not, our beliefs affect our habits.  The two areas mentioned above, health and finances, especially can be altered significantly by what we believe.  Have you ever given much thought to what you believe?

If you know me or read this blog in the past, you'll know that my faith means the Christian faith.  If you are a Christian reading this (everyone else just bear with me a moment), then I encourage you to take a spiritual inventory and pray about where God wants you to grow.  None of us are perfect (and if you think you are, you need that prayer more than you think!), but we are the work of God and continually in progress.  Did you ever wonder why we weren't just snatched up to Heaven the moment we came to Christ?  God has work to do both in and through us in this life, and "will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).  In other words, we don't stop growing, so don't get complacent!

Maybe you're reading this and aren't really sure what you believe (see, I promised I'd get back to you!).  There might have been a lot of confusing, intimidating language in the paragraph above.  That's OK.  That's not for you to worry about at this point in time.  I encourage you to resolve to start asking some more questions about who God is.  Who is Jesus to you?  And think about the implications - if the Bible is true, what does that mean for you and everyone else?  I can tell you what I think you should believe, and you can probably even guess what that is.  But I can't make that decision for you. Let this 4th of July weekend be the beginning of your search for defining what you believe.  And you can just start by asking thoughtful questions.

Until January....

You may have just read some things you liked, and maybe some others you didn't care for.  Let's agree to do this - rather than make a half-hearted resolution at some party on December 31, let's make a thoughtful resolution today.  That way, when New Years rolls around, we're already well on our way to an improved lifestyle.  And then we can just kick back and enjoy the countdown to midnight.