How To Keep News Years’ Resolutions from Reverting to Default

Resolution Problems.

There are two problems with resolutions. If we can nix those problems, we can complete the resolutions. Trouble is, we end up reverting to default because we don’t do the nix.

First, we set such high goals that we become discouraged and give up before the first month is gone.

Second, even though we might have some good goals, we don’t really have a definitive plan to complete them.

Before we know it, we’re back in default mode.

Tell me how many goals you’ve set in the past and what your plans were to fulfill them, and I can almost certainly tell you if you made it to the finish line. You could look at my track record, and you could tell the same about me.

I’m not an expert in this.  It’s just that I’ve often lived in default, so that’s how I know. When we fix these two problems, we can be guaranteed success with our resolutions.

I’m sharing this, not because I’m so good at resolutions, but because I’ve been doing some serious thinking.  There’s a difference between a short-distance sprinter and a long-distance runner.

Have a plan

This year, I have a plan.  Sort’ve a plan. For three months, that is.

Why?  I’m tired of planning for twelve months and not making it through the first month.

Working as a nurse, I learned a little something about putting a plan in place to reach an end goal.  I know it’s easier said than done, especially when the goals I make from home are not contingent on a monthly salary.

Yet, I know that having a doable plan in place and a way to carry out that plan is what it takes to achieve success.

It also takes commitment and accountability.

I like to think I understand this. I experienced it when I worked as a nurse in a medical center, oh so many, many years ago.

That was before the days of computers, and our charting was done in longhand for every single patient. Yep.  And people wonder why my handwriting is so terrible.

In addition to having each plan personalized, it was amended weekly and sometimes daily. It had to be changeable because the conditions of our patients changed daily, and sometimes hourly. We had to have a plan in place.

That works

From doing nursing care plans, I learned the value of picturing and aiming for an end result. I also learned that if no plan was in place, we’d revert to default – which was never a good place to be. It was better to have a “what if” plan in place rather than to assume  all would go well with our original plan.

I learned the value of avoiding potential dangers by naming them and then developing a plan to avoid those pitfalls. I learned that when we follow our plan and have the cooperation of the patient, most times we complete the goal.  When an audit occurred, it really was a good idea to have those care plans completely intact!

Making goals with no plan to implement them is really no goal at all. It sounds good, but it will not get you anywhere.

A written plan with no action really is no plan at all.

That’s why we need to do more than just make the resolution.

So you’d like to read the Bible through in a year in ten translations?  How about choosing one translation and then choosing a plan to follow?  There are so many choices out there. You can follow a plan online, or print out your own plan.  Try this , or this.  Or you can google and find your own plan.

So you want to lose weight in 2026?  You’re really not going to have any desserts for an entire year? Come on, be realistic. What’s your plan?  Exercise or attend a gym?  How often?  For how long?  What about nutrition? What about water intake?  Do you have check-points?  What’s the plan?  If you lack a plan, will it really happen?

You want to improve a relationship with someone?  What’s your plan?  You’re going to wait for them to call you, hoping things will get better without your doing anything about it? If you don’t have a plan and don’t implement it, you’ll revert to default mode.  At the end of the year, what are the chances the relationship will be any better?  Would a plan be better than living  in default? I realize that there is more involved in relationships than a scheduled encounter.  The point I am making is that if you don’t do anything, your relationship remains in default.

You want to start attending and/or choose a church?  What’s your plan?  Visit four churches in four months, one a month for each month?  Visit in a Bible study?  Just stay home until the mood to be a stranger in a church hits you? What are the chances it will happen if you don’t have a plan?

You have a child who struggles with his temper, procrastination, or disrespect?  What’s your plan?  (Yes, the first thing we must do is pray). But after you keep praying, how are you going to see a difference by the end of the year?  Do you have a  plan to talk to the child and explain rewards and consequences?  Do you have a plan to provide affirmation with words and rewards? If it’s a character quality you’re after, rest assured that your diligence can make a difference, but it must begin with the heart. If you don’t have a plan, what are the chances that, at the end of the year, your child will still struggle with his problem?  What are the chances his attitude will continue in default?

You’d like to spend more time praying for your family.  How about making a “prayer plan”?  List the character qualities of which you have a concern, then find scriptures that you can actually pray back to God.  I love praying God’s Word back to Him.  You’ll be praying with a purpose instead of by default. Oh, I know that God doesn’t have a set way to pray, and He hears our prayers no matter whether they are planned or not.  Yet there’s something about being intentional in our prayers that gives us a purpose. If we’re not intentional, how many times do we stop praying because we don’t see any results?

So you want to make New Years’ Resolutions?

Go ahead. Write down the resolution. Develop a reasonable, doable plan. Find a friend to be your “auditor”. Then go for it.

And a Happy New Year to you!