Every time I've hopped on the internet this week, I'm inundated with headlines like: "Best and Worst of Reality TV in 2011," "Worst Celebrity Break Ups of 2011," "Most Beautiful Celebrity Weddings of 2011," "Most Influential Celebrity of 2011," "Celebrities Who Had Ingrown Toenails in 2011" . . . okay, maybe not the ingrown toenail article, but you get the idea.
As January 1 approaches, everybody everywhere has some list we're supposed to read to about people who are more important than us. Personally, I think we'd be a lot better to evaluating our own lives rather than some celebrity's. So as you approach the new year, I encourage you to make your own 2011-2012 lists and ask yourself several things to improve your life:
1. What's most important to me?
Go ahead. List out the top five or ten things that are, or should be, most important. For me, the list would look something like:
a. My relationship with God
b. My relationship with my husband
c. Raising my two little boys to love and honor God
d. Growing my writing career
e. Ministering to others
2. What did these aspects of my life look like twelve months ago?
Go ahead, ask yourself the question and spend some time analyzing the list. Can you see how your relationship with God has grown over the past year. Is your relationship with your husband in a better place than it was one year ago today? The answers to these questions should be yes, but far to often, if I honestly evaluate my own life, I have to answer "No" or "not as much as I'd like."
3. Where do I want to be in another 12 months?
Now look at your list and ask yourself this last question. Write down some tangible goals in every area, save the piece of paper, and work toward those goals in the coming year. When you feel yourself loosing sight of what's most important (and we all do this) take the list out and remind yourself of your goals. Then next year at this time, pull that paper back out and evaluate your life. See if your New Year's Resolutions really stuck.
If we're really interested in changing, growing, and becoming better people, then we need to take a clear, honest look at our own goals and priorities, rather than be concerned with what happened to a bunch of celebrities, whom most of us will never even meet.
Now that you know what my goals and priorities are for 2012, why don't you share some of yours? Leave a comment below, and thanks for stopping by. I'll be back on Monday, announcing some changes for 2012 to Making Home Work. And in the meantime, Happy New Year!!!
Without TV, I hardly recognize celebrities anymore. Which is fine with me. I've never written new year's resolutions, you'd think I would since I'm a perfectionist...maybe that's why I don't--I know I'm going to fail!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you in not recognizing celebrities, Melissa. But I didn't know you were TV-less. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Naomi (and profile pic:)! If we don't ask ourselves these questions, life will kind of run away with us. It's a hard balance to keep writing and family life (and all else) in perspective. When all is said and done, I'd much rather be remembered as a good mom than a good writer. I think we can do both but family should always come first. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura. I think that's one of my biggest fears--to become known as a good writer while sacrificing time with my kids. We only get once chance to raise them, and I want to do it right. :)
ReplyDelete