Making Room for Resolutions

By Bud Fickley, Director of Student Ministry at Dutilh Church

We’re about two-thirds of the way through January and I’m willing to bet that there are some resolutions you already have started to drop.  I remember a time, before being married and having children, when I worked out in the gym on a nearly daily basis.  I remember when the first January came around (I stared in the middle of summer), one of the regulars said to me, “It’s going to get crazy around here for a few weeks, but don’t worry, most of the people who start coming because of a New Year’s resolution will be gone before the end of January.”  And do you know?  He was right!

I was amazed how for the first couple of weeks the gym was overflowing with people I’d never seen before.  I was frustrated that my normally carefully coordinated workout routine was interrupted by unavailable machines and a barrage of people asking if I would be done soon.  “Go away, and get your own machine!”  Ok, I didn’t yell at anyone. But I wanted to.

Then, just like magic, as we rolled to the end of January, the gym started thinning back out. By February, the majority had gone.

There were a few people whose “practice made permanent,” but they weren’t commonplace.  It makes me wonder what it takes to stick with something.  Jenny Monahan, our communications director, talked in her blog post a few weeks back about making resolutions and she shared the phrase “practice makes permanent.”  If you haven’t read it, I recommend you go back and read it.  Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

Here’s the mistake I think a lot of people make with resolutions: they decide they’re going to start doing something but don’t stop doing something to make room.  Our schedules only have so many hours in it and some of those hours are non-negotiable.  So if we’re going to start going to the gym, eating healthier (which usually takes meal planning and prep time), or spending more time with God, we’ve got to make room.

There’s an author named Bob Goff.  He’s an incredible speaker, wonderfully easy-to-read writer, and a “recovering lawyer” (his words, not mine). He had a principle of quitting something every Thursday; for a long time, he did just that.  When Thursday rolled around, he picked something he was going to stop doing, and quit.

Why?  I heard him speak at a conference a few times, and the point he makes is this: How can we find time to do new things if we keep doing the old things?  Sometimes he would already have something in mind to replace the thing he was giving up and other times, he just made room in his schedule.

If you’re finding that you’re having a hard time keeping up with your resolution, maybe it’s time to figure out what you can quit this January so you can make room for that new year, new you, or new thing you wanted to start.

Here are a few thoughts:

1. If you’re a reader with a commute, try doing audio books instead of paperback.  It’s less paper and you can redeem your car time.
   
2. Try giving up a show or two in the evening.  If you’re like me, I sit down to watch one show that I really like but then, once the TV is on, I lose a couple hours.
   
3. Set limits on your smart phone.  Most smart phones now have a way to let you know when you’re spending a lot of consecutive time on a single app (read, social media).  How much time do you lose on Facebook each day?

No matter what you do, the easiest way to lose your new habit or resolution is simply to not make time for it.  So, if you’re already struggling with your resolution, don’t get down on yourself. Try making room for it then have a New Year Do-Over at the beginning of February, and try again.