The New Year…Time for a Fresh Start

Nobody likes change, but I have found that the New Year is a great time to begin to look for things you want to do differently. It’s a good time to think about some goals, some things you would like to do differently and make a plan for how you are going to reach them. A wise person once said, “The definition for insanity is doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result.” It’s impossible! Another wise person also said, “If you aim for nothing, you are bound to hit it 100% of the time.” So the best thing you can do is to set some goals and plan how to reach them…and friends, there is no better time to begin than now. 

So I want to share with you 5 things you can think about in the New Year, and if you can think of more,  then it’s even better.

#1 – Plan for how you are going to grow spiritually. I hear people say all the time that they want to read their Bible more, they want to pray more and get closer to God, but when you ask how they are going to do it, they don’t have a clue. The best thing to do is to set a specific time of the day for prayer and Bible reading, and make it a firm commitment. You can’t let anything distract you from your daily appointment with God. And I promise you, distractions will come! Friends will show up at your door, the phone will ring, and a myriad of other things will come up to take you away from your time alone with God. Be sure to choose a time when it will be least likely that you will be distracted, like early morning, or late night when you can set aside at least an hour  every day to dedicate to your relationship with God. And by the end of the year, you will be amazed when you realize how much you have grown spiritually. 

#2 – Plan for how you are going to improve physically.  If you have been meaning to drop that extra 20 pounds, or you have wanted to get into better shape physically, there is no better time to begin that journey than the New Year. But don’t just say it…this time, actually make a plan as to how you are going to do it. Devise a new eating plan, a new exercise schedule or go ahead and buy that new gym membership you’ve been thinking about. I have found that Weight Watchers has a great program for helping people lose weight and teaches you  how to keep it off for life. It will take discipline, but it will be worth the effort when you reach that goal you have been talking about for years, but didn’t know how to get there. This New Year…don’t just talk about it, but really take the steps you need to see it through. 

#3 – Plan for how you are going to heal emotionally. We all have emotional baggage that we have been carrying around for years, and it has held us back from living the life that we always wanted to live but didn’t know how. This is the year to overcome all that emotional stuff and let it go. Friends, I can tell you that you can never move forward when you are always looking in the rear-view mirror. It’s time to move out of the past, put it all behind you and look toward a bright and beautiful future. If it’s an old love, or a failed marriage that has kept you in bondage, it’s time to forgive and let it go. If it’s someone who should love you but they just don’t and you don’t know why…whether it’s your grown children, your grandchildren or even a spouse or someone who was your best friend, and you feel like they betrayed you or broke your heart, it’s time to let it go and move forward. You’ve been on this emotional roller-coaster long enough, and it’s not going to make things better for you to grieve over it forever. Let it go! Let the pain in your heart heal and stop picking the scab off the wound by dwelling on it. God has a purpose for your life, and staying in the past is never going to fulfill what God has for you to do with your life. He will help you to heal and to move forward, but YOU have to let Him. 

#4 – Plan for how you are going to improve mentally. Take a class, join a club, or start a hobby. There are so many things you can do to improve your life and now is the time to begin. Maybe you have been wanting to learn how to garden, or maybe cooking is more your forte. You may have dreamed of travel, or music. Whatever it is that you have been saying “One day I want to…” NOW is the time to mark that dream off your bucket list by actually doing it! You will never know how amazing your life will be until you jump out there and just do it! I remember I always thought about travel. I wanted to go to the mountains or a cruise or something exciting, but I was waiting until “someday” when all the circumstances were just right. I was praying one night, complaining to God about how I never got to do anything exciting. I said, “Lord, I want to live before I die.” Friends, it wasn’t long before the most exciting opportunity just sort of fell into my lap, and within a few months I found myself beginning the most exciting next few years of my life…traveling on missions trips to foreign countries. It was the most AMAZING time I have ever experienced! You may not know what it is that you want to do, but you are longing for something to fulfill that need in your heart, then pray about it, and then expect God to allow you to experience whatever it is that  He knows will give you the most joy. 

And #5 – and this one is going to hurt a bit…plan for how you can find a place of more peace in your life. One of the most “unpeaceful” things that many of us experience in life is to have a person, or maybe even more than one, who brings into our lives a sense of drama, chaos or manipulation. You know who that person is for you. It may be a friend, a co-worker or even a family member. This is the time to begin to distance yourself from that person and begin to do what is necessary to move that person further away from your day to day contact. If it’s a friend, it may be time to stop spending so much time with that person, if it’s a co-worker, you may need to look toward a transfer to a different department at work or maybe even a new job. If it’s a family member, you can make other things in your life more of a priority during the times that you would normally be in contact with that person. I’m not saying here that you need to write that person completely out of your life, but your priorities need to change so that you don’t make as much time for that person’s drama. Also, do not under any circumstances allow yourself to argue with that person. Everything they bring to you may be guilt or manipulation, but you don’t have to participate. Be confident of who you are and what your life is all about and their words will not put you on a guilt trip and you won’t fall for their manipulative tactics on your life. Just don’t participate…and before long you will find that they will stop! 

Friends, I believe that 2025 can be your most successful and peaceful year ever, if you will take the steps necessary to make it that way. Won’t you write out your plan keeping these 5 areas to work on in mind so you can look back on it every once in a while. And don’t forget to hit LIKE on this video and subscribe to this channel for future ideas to help you find more “Wisdom for Life” in the days to come 

God bless you and please…have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!