Goal setting has never been my forte. Don’t get me wrong, It’s not like I’ve never tried to set goals. Believe it or not, there are things about me that need to change: I should lose weight, I should be more prompt, I should spend more time reading my Bible, and being in prayer, and I should work on internal things like patience, kindness, and procrastination. But oddly enough, I don’t like to fail, so why would I set myself up for failure? What a terrible way to start anew year.

I came to this conclusion about 20 years ago—think about it—all year long I love eating; I like living a “sedentary” lifestyle; I naturally put things off until tomorrow.

“Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow”.

(Quoting my Dad. I guess I take after him.)

But magically on January 1 (of any given year) I’m expected to believe that I will be able to change everything about my life and start behaving differently. I can’t see that happening.

No, I’m not a goal setter, usually. However, this year I have decided maybe it’s time for me to mix it up a little bit and maybe, possibly improve some things about myself.

So, I made a list, because I am a list maker. I actually think that contributes to my procrastination, but alas, that’s another post.

But this time I’m listing goals. Wow! I’ve already improved my life, because I have become a Goal Setter!! What a great year!

Listing the things that I want to improve helps me keep track of what I’m working on. It’s so easy for one day to pass on to another day, and I soon forget what I was supposed to be doing. Anyone else like that?

When I decided to change my eating habits this past week (notice I didn’t start on Jan. 1, just saying), I thought about setting an alert on my phone, just to remind me not to snack. Because the first day on the new eating plan, I started to reach for a piece of chocolate, and I almost had it in my mouth before I realized what I was doing. Habits are hard to break.

I also do a lot of research on things that I want to improve. This helps keep it in the front of my thought process, which in turn helps me keep the chocolate out of my mouth.

Because I want to improve in a few different areas of my life, I decided to implement them in staggering steps. I can’t expect a life time of negative habits to change just because it’s a new year, so I’m trying to give each modification time to become a part of my lifestyle.

So, that’s what I’m doing:

Making a list

Checking it twice

I’ll keep you informed, if I’m naughty or nice. What about you? Are you a goal setter? Do you make resolutions each year? Do you keep them? If you do, let me know the secret to your success.