At this point we are three weeks into the new year. Have you fallen off the wagon of your resolutions yet? I read something this week that says that 90% of people break their New Year’s resolutions by Valentine’s Day. Sad, but true.
So if you are already struggling with pressing on to what you committed to do at the beginning of the year, I just want to encourage you to keep at it! If you are miserably hungry because you have reduced your calorie intake and you are aching because you have increased your physical activity, don’t let the discomfort of where you are right now surpass the exhilarating feeling that will come when you succeed.
Think back on what you truly wanted at the beginning of this year. Hopefully it was more than just to look good in a swimsuit by the summer. I mean we can all gain motivation from a variety of sources. But if your goal was to change your life for the better and improve your health for all the right reasons (not the vain ones) then you are more likely to find the determination to stick with it.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that you are worthy. Worthy of all the hard work, sweat and tears it may take to get you where you want to go. And don’t beat yourself up if you slipped up a little and have already indulged in a double-stuffed Oreo cookie by mid-January. Just get over it. And get on with it!
A little progress is better than none at all.
I was talking with a friend the other day about this very thing. We were comparing the physical journey a lot of people embark on at the beginning of the year with our spiritual journeys. For example, some people promise to be more involved in reading and studying their Bible at the beginning of the New Year. Maybe they commit to reading a certain number of chapters a day. But time and commitments get in the way and mess up their progress in keeping on schedule.
So, should they put the Bible down and say, “I got off track, so I just won’t read it at all anymore?”
No, that’s silly. Because even a little bit of something good is still something. And it’s still really important. Studying just a little of God’s word can still yield major benefits. Just like exercising a little or improving your nutrition just a little can still provide positive results.
Studies show that reducing your weight by as little as 5-10 percent can decrease your chance of developing heart disease and improve your heart function and blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Just a few pounds—a little effort—can make a big difference.
So this year if you are already frustrated because you aren’t where you wanted to be, don’t be all or nothing. Even if you change a little it’s still important and eventually little changes can actually become big ones.