You’ve probably stepped into the New Year with a fresh determination to do things differently. You may have made resolutions or just a mental list of the things you want to see differently. Similar to a wife giving her husband the house repair list, you’re hopeful that some of it will be done by the end of the year. Good on you for recognising that today is a great day to change.

Sometimes we wander from day to day accepting that this is our ‘norm’. As I asked friends for input on what they want to see affected by change, some looked at the physical transformations, while others were dealing with learning aspirations or simply reading to accumulate more wisdom.

A few were concentrating on the spiritual and wanting to see their relationship with God enhanced by either drawing close to Him or learning more of Him . In this quick post I want to give you five tips for keeping determined on those key areas you want to be a focus this year. I was reading Michael Hyatt’s blog a couple of days ago when he gave this illustration.

A young man once asked a wise old woman, “When is the best time to plant an oak tree?” She answered: “Twenty years ago.” He then asked, “When is the second best time?” She answered, “Today.”

One of my favourite leaders has always been Abraham Lincoln. His determination through both personal, external and national adversity are a tribute to the strength and persistence he endeared. His wife Mary was also a lady who showed great character as together they lost children at an early age yet when on to lead a nation while espousing great love for family.

Not only is Lincoln famous for how he led the nation of America through the Civil War and also effect a change to the American Constitution in order to abolish slavery, but on a personal front he faced rejection from his political party on many occasions as he sought office a long time before becoming President. Even his start in life wasn’t born without hardship as His inheritance was bought out of adversity as his father and grandfather fought and sacrificed for the family’s future.

Today you may have a personal goal, a dream to be realised or simply like one of my friends, you may want to kick an addiction like energy drinks. The key to the goal is focus and determination but how can you keep the main thing the main thing?

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.
– Abraham Lincoln

Five Steps for Keeping Resolutions

Also useful for Building Log Cabins

1. Keep It Simple

Often we don’t achieve a plan because it is too complicated. What began as a simple idea like ‘lose weight’, became a scientific expedition through Calorie City to Exercise Eden. Like a Log Cabin keep it to a kitchen, bedroom, loft and dining family area. Don’t design the mansion when your simple outcome has a simple solution. If it takes you more than an hour to sit down and write out what you want to achieve and three ways you could make that happen then you’re investing your time in a management plan not a solution.

2. Stick to the Plan

The biggest fault with any goal is straying from the plan. In project planning it is called ‘creep’ because you don’t realise it has snuck up behind you and grabbed the reins of your project. So if you’re building a log cabin, don’t let the idea of planting a vege patch or a barn take you off your focus. Keep your simple plan in front of you as a reminder of what is the main thing. If its not in front of you on your bathroom mirror or the ceiling of your bedroom then other projects will compete for attention. Don’t let them justify their position. Shout them down with a poster of your ‘Log Cabin’ everywhere you look. Make your plan desirable to you. Make it bold, visual and real.

3. Connect with other Builders

One of the strengths of a log cabin is how the tree trunks interlink at the corners providing a solid framework for the rest of the house. Be willing to share your building plans with other ‘builders’. Your connections will build solidity. As you connect with other people who have the same goals as yourself, you will gain three strengths that won’t happen if you build alone. First you will find Wisdom from those who have been down the track before. Second, there will be the Strength of numbers as you lean on each other. Life is about seasons which bring growth and cleansing, death and healing. As you are there for other builders in their season, they will be there in your time of need. Finally the Momentum of friends is a powerful ally that will roll you to your goal faster than a lone walk down destiny lane.

4. SMART

One of the greatest compliments given to Abraham Lincoln was that he was an ‘intelligent’, ‘astute’ politician. He was SMART and this is a great place to introduce this acronym for your resolution plan.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time Bound

The idea of the SMART plan is to keep your steps and plan in a format where it will work. There’s no point putting a jet engine in a Mini Cooper in order to get to work quicker and save on fuel.

The whole plan needs to be cohesive. As you look at the goal and steps you have in place, ask yourself if they match these criteria. Is the goal specific so that rather than say ‘Get Fit’, you want to be able to walk 5kms a day, four days a week without falling over in a heap. Like the idea of walking, a goal to lose weight should be measurable and achievable. Don’t say that you want to lose 20kgs in two months before school starts when losing a kilogram a week would be an admirable and achievable goal. Making your steps relevant is also poignant. For someone wanting to improve their relationship with God they may feel reading more Christian books will do the trick when simple prayerful time out of the rat-race in prayer would be more relevant.

5. Dream Bigger

In our second point we encouraged you to think carefully about sticking to the plan. Distractions are the curse of every goal. Its not that these distractions are inherently bad but as they are ‘tangents’ they take us off course, we lose momentum and so the thing we hope to achieve is further away from our original goal.

While we need to be careful of putting distractions in front of us, incentives are another area altogether. I think that when Abraham Lincoln moved into his first log cabin, he was already dreaming about a bigger one. When he went into his first mansion he may have even be thinking of redecorating the White House. Keep dreams and incentives that are in line with your original goal and resolution as these are the right reward for fulfilment of a goal and the completion of a project.

For God and Country

Pro Aris et Focis is a latin phrase (meaning For God and Country) that is used by the American Legion and many family’s and nations before. I think that a higher calling than personal satisfaction under girded Abraham Lincoln’s success. Maybe one aspect of evaluating your next resolution is to ask ‘Who am I doing this for?’

The famous preacher Jonathan Edwards can have the last word on the issue of resolutions. Many of us are familiar with the sarcastic set of rules found in businesses and homes. They often go “Rule 1: The Boss is always right, Rule 2: if the Boss is wrong, refer to Rule 1”. As Edwards was looking at his life, its endeavours and all he had to live for he took a more resolute position. He determined that if he was to succeed in life he needed the sustenance and direction of the creator.

A number of years ago a friend gave me this verse, Ephesians 1:11 scrawled on a napkin at a conference we were both attending. I’ve held on to that napkin for over a decade as the enormity of the verse is still a challenge and a hope.

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
Ephesians 1:11-12 (The Message)

Lets see how Jonathan Edwards was able to encapsulate those thoughts in his resolution. As you do, consider that both the greatest and smallest of endeavours are best resolved in partnership with our God and Creator.

Resolution 1: I will live for God
Resolution 2: If no one else does, I still will.
– Jonathan Edwards

Thank you for reading this post. I love hearing about the blog posts being shared so please post it on Facebook and Twitter. If you have the time to write a short comment on how you have dealt with resolutions and what worked or didn’t work for you I’d be grateful.