Well, it’s week one of my “fast”, and my motives are already askew.  

I always set out on a “fast” doing it for God and spiritual changes in my life, but then I start thinking about how great it will be to lose weight.  So, then that’s my motivation. 

I have to constantly remind myself that I’m doing this for spiritual change, not necessarily physical change.  

Why are we so tied to physical things and not the spiritual?  I know when I volunteer my motives are pure, but before you know it, my attitude has changed to “look at me”.  Or “hey, I can add this to my resume”.  

Our thought process has a lot to do with how we handle things and our journey we take.  It is very hard to keep our minds on track, so for the new year, I decided to list a few things that might help us stay on the original thought process.  

The number one on my list would be – “Remember, you don’t have to do it perfectly”.  

I always beat myself up when I accidentally change gears in my mind.  So instead of me focusing on failed attempts, I will pay attention to that wonderful, deeper impulse, to change my life, my habits.  The annual resolution is fine as a fresh start but give yourself the grace to start fresh each day.  

Also, allow yourself to regroup on your goals.  

If you have set your goals too high, list the pro’s and con’s, rewrite them to where they are in your reach.  Don’t throw them out altogether.  

A real biggy and I hate doing it, is tracking your progress.  If you don’t know where you started and where you’ve come, then you can’t feel great along the way about all the small steps you took, to get to your accomplishment.  

Another would be to create bite-size portions so you can see the small steps.  

Break up your goals in compartments or increments in order to see results faster and always reward yourself.  

I know when my boys were little, we always did the star chart with a nicer prize at the end of a time allotted bank.  They would get the stars every day, and once a week, or monthly, they got to choose something they really wanted based on the number of stars.  

We as adults can do something as simple as a star chart.  It’s easy to keep up with and shows you at a glance where you are at in your goal process.  

List out your rewards based on the number of stars.  If you only get two stars that week then you get the reward that matches two stars.  

If you got five stars, then you get the bigger reward.  Simple, but very effective.  

And the last one; don’t be ashamed to ask for support.  

When you make yourself accountable to someone, it’s like magic.  When no one knows what you are trying to accomplish, or if they know but are not included in the plan, then you are more likely to fail.  

The support doesn’t have to be a lot.  Maybe a text every day, or once a week.  It’s always a good thing to better ourselves, so let’s try and make it easier for us.  

I bet God is putting gold stars by our names right now!

 

Karen Y. Stevens is founder of Orange County Christian Writers Guild