Merry New Year!

It’s a new year and 2012 signifies a lot of different things for various individuals. At my church, this year defines divine acceleration for each and every one of us (if we believe it and make strides to achieve it by God’s grace, of course), for many students, myself included, it means graduation (after 4 years of hard work, all-nighters and new friendships), for others it is a brand new job or career (which is a category I hope to be in),  for some females out there, like one close friend of mine, their first bundle of joy is expecting to make entrance into the world, and for others, the start of 2012 is simply an opportunity to start afresh.

I’ve hopped off the bandwagon of creating New Year’s Resolutions a long time ago. It made me feel as though I was “all-talk” for the most part—especially if by February (or the end of January, for that matter) I forget all about my resolutions! I definitely respect anyone who decides to come up with New Year’s Resolutions, because it is the root of a goal, and setting goals is what I do partake in. I’ve seen a lot of comments and written thoughts (mostly on Social Media) concerning resolutions for the New Year and it is usually to describe how “stupid” or “pointless” it is. In my opinion, anyone who bashes others because of his/her decision to set resolutions most likely are incapable of viewing the New Year with optimistic eyes. It’s always a great thing when someone makes the outright decision to take action and change his or her life for the better, in the upcoming year. Maybe the question in the minds of a lot of anti-resolution-makers (and certainly my own) is: Why wait ‘til January 1?

Clock striking Midnight on Jan. 1 || Photo courtesy of sodahead.com

Expect good things for this year and when we reach the half-way point, KEEP on expecting good things! Don’t give up on the year you’re in now and sit down waiting for the next year, with the belief that 12 Midnight ultimately defines the “new you”—because it certainly does not. Why waste precious time being pessimistic about tomorrow, the next month and the year you are in? Set goals for yourself. You want to lose weight? Great. Join a local gym and commit to the membership that you paid for! Maybe even go with a friend—that encouragement will keep you going back longer than just one month. Want to get straight A’s this upcoming semester? Beautiful. Log out of Facebook, cease the tweets, turn off the TV, and go to the library to crack open the textbook that is only open during class. Want to be an overall better person? Awesome. Start acting like one and continue being it. You cannot change for the better if you remain stagnant and refuse to make an effort to achieve what you set out to attain.

That being stated, Merry New Year and may all the resolutions or goals you set out to achieve in 2012 come true—not magically, but because you worked hard to see that change happen.