Out With the Old…

In the spirit of saying goodbye to 2013 and welcoming in a new year, we ponder possible resolutions and tentative intentions.  We consider all that was positive about our past, and all that needs addressing in order to improve upon our present and future.  In short, we plan.

When it comes to new years’ resolutions, it seems that many of us allow our best intentions to fade to anonymity by the end of January.  And so, we may wonder whether there is a point in making any commitments at all.

I would suggest that there is indeed a benefit to making resolutions.  The key, however, is keeping the resolution truly achievable and worthwhile.

In the past, I’ve committed to losing weight; a fairly common resolution.  My mistake, though, was to commit without really being committed.  The goal was a worthy one.  Achieving the goal would have improved my health and my self-confidence.  But, it was such a big goal that it wasn’t long before discouragement won the day, and I sort of forgot about the idea.  Instead, I should have committed to a smaller “first step” goal, with the overall goal set in proper perspective.  And so, this year, one of my resolutions is indeed to lose some weight, but I’m framing it differently.  Instead of a large and daunting number for which to shoot, I’m shooting to weigh less at the end of January than I did at the end of December; whether it’s a half a pound or five pounds, it’ll be progress.  From there, I’ll shoot to weigh less by the end of February than I did at the end of January.  You get the idea.

Now that you know my strategy, you may wonder why I’m posting it on a writer’s blog.  It’s simple.  I’m resolving to implement this approach to my professional life, so that 2014 might be even better than was 2013.  My book, The Crimson Purpose, has done well, but I want to see it do even better.  I want to see the demand for the second installment grow, so that I might be able to move up its publication.  An exciting and daunting goal, but again, I’ll approach it month by month.  Baby steps.  I’m hoping to sell more books in January than I did last month, and so on.  With a little hard work, a lot of opportunity, and God’s will, it’ll be a wonderful 2014!

A huge thank you to everyone out there who has encouraged me in this exciting venture, and I appreciate your willingness to stick with me as I follow my God-given passion to write fiction for God’s glory.  And, I wish you well as you focus on your own resolutions!  God Bless!