Making Goals (aka Resolutions) for the New Year

I have a few days off from work this week partly because of the New Year's holiday and partly because the economy is slow, so I'm setting some goals for 2009. I'm not very good at setting goals and I have to admit that it's very daunting. There's a voice in my head that keeps saying, "Why set goals? You know you probably won't meet them anyway, so why are you bothering to do it?" And that voice also says, "You're not like other people who are good at accomplishing what they set out to do." I don't think that voice is accurate, but it's what I hear in my head a lot. So, it's hard to sit down and do it. Plus, I haven't made it a habit of setting goals in my life. Now I really regret that, but I can't look back and wallow in regret! I must move forward! I know that setting goals is a profitable exercise and it seems like a wise thing to do, even if I don't achieve exactly every goal. I would probably be better for having set goals than if I had not planned to do accomplish anything.

I find it comforting to realize that no matter how old I am (I'm turning 40 in a few days) that God can take what I offer Him and do some amazing things with it even though I don't deserve it. There are examples of people who have made some significant accomplishments even though they were older. I do see the advantage of starting off well during one's youth, but that's not my situation right now. I will learn to be wise with what I have now and offer it to God and ask for His blessing on it and grace. He still lets me live for a reason and I think His reason for doing so will be seen in time as I offer Him my life and serve Him.

Tonight I updated a sheet that I use to give my age at different stages in increments of 1, 2, and then multiples of 5 years. I do this for my parents and siblings, too. It really shocks me in a good way! It helps me to realize how precious time is and how little of it I really have to work with (and actually I don't know if I will be alive tomorrow). So, I'm glad I do it. It seems like a tedious exercise, but I know it will prove useful. It's kind of like how I feel bad after exercising sometimes but then later I feel better than I did before I exercised. So, that's my hope. :)