New Year's Resolutions

I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions. To me, our lives should be a continual process of self improvement. This coming year feels different. Our family has been through a lot. It feels at times that there is a dark cloud hanging over us. A sorrow that will never lift. But I refuse to live that way.

Life is not meant to be endured, it's meant to be lived. While grief makes me want to stay frozen in time, life is moving forward. Painful as it is. 

We have a brief time on this planet. I am not going to stroll through my journey, I want to run the race. Even if I trip and fall along the way. I may reach the finish line beaten and bruised, in fact, I am fairly certain that I will. But, I also know that along with the lows, there will be highs. Moments of joy to match the moments of sorrow. Moments of both triumph and failure.

Most importantly I want to show my children that, although life can be hard, we should never be afraid to live.

The extraneous stuff, the mundane, that petty worries that keep me awake at night-I'm done with it (at least I'm going to try.) There's a saying by Stephen Covey that says, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."

I've been trying to narrow my goals down to a few of (what I consider to be) the most important areas of my life. I'm keeping the goals small. With my hectic life, there is really no point in making grandiose, impossible goals.

I need to take care of myself. I need to take care of my family. I need to take care of our home. I'd like to serve others and make an impact on the world in some small way. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of things that I could do in each of these areas. It can be overwhelming.

For me, I've decided to first look at who I am as a person, and who I would like to be. I need to stay true to myself. I need to set goals that have meaning to me and would make a difference in my life, for my family. Over the past few weeks, I've been spending time just trying to imagine what I want our lives to look and feel like. The question is, what would have the most impact? What's the "main thing" or things for us?

What's your main thing? Are you ready for 2015?

I'll be publishing my list of goals/plans/resolutions on New Year's Eve.

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