Pause for reflection, thoughts of resolutions

As long as I have worked in the journalism profession it seems like the end of the year is a time to reflect on the year that will soon be put to bed and optimism reigns supreme.

Once New Year’s resolutions were essential for me but they are likely be broken in a few days or weeks—healthier diet, regimented exercise, better study of scripture, writing timely notes to family and friends, upping my volunteer time and so on. My record, like many readers, is a mixed bag.

Life has a way of taking me off course. There are not enough sticky notes to keep me on track. Still, such practices remain essential. Several years ago I stuck to four themes (in no particular order)—1, increase my recreational reading; 2, work on personal finances; 3, exercise; and 4, sort and organize.

For the most part I stayed on task although I strayed as time went on. The discipline to tackle all four comprehensively was a tougher task than I thought. I did find that boiling down a multitude of projects into four themes seemed to help. Perhaps one mistake I made in the past year was simply trying to continue those themes without making a concerted effort and road map to understand the pockets of success and significant slippage.

The discipline to continue toward a path of achievement is just as filled with detours and shortcuts.

I’m smart enough to know better than taking an all-out attack, which is often filled with potholes. The desire is still there although the mental toughness lacks. Still, I’ll need to focus on the achievable. Perhaps it is not such a bad thing to go back a few years ago and look at my four themes.

Recreational reading and sorting and organizing are best accomplished in the winter. Personal finance and exercise should supplement those activities in the winter and gather steam throughout the remainder of the year.

One of the activities I like is Walk Kansas, which is undertaken in the spring, as it forces me to have a regimented routine for six weeks. When I do my taxes in the spring that’s often the time of year for me to evaluate my spending and saving habits and focus on where I can improve.

Lord willing, perhaps when I write this column a year from now I’ll make headway. It is going to take more than empty promises.