“I Choose”
Written by Just A Guy On A Journey.

Lose 25 pounds, have a better year than last year. Stay organized. No fast food. Quit smoking, etc etc.

This is the busiest time of year for gyms selling gym memberships to bright-eyed, bushy-tailed people with good intended resolutions from New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, many of these resolves and workouts are half-hearted and short-lived.

On my journey I find these resolutions do not work, at least for me they are not effective. The truth is I can not even remember the resolution I made 365 days ago or if I even made one at all.

A recent post on Facebook by Pastor Chris Fraley of Abundant Life Church in Freehold, NJ Abundant Life Church inspired my new mantra for 2013. His status simply read,
“Focused on solutions not resolutions, that’s how I roll.” I like that a lot and it brought me to this writing for the first day of the year and my new outlook on resolutions.

The reason resolutions often fail is because the decision to implement these new habits is made one time, on New Years Eve. We then venture into the new year looking for positive change from a ceremonial half committed promise we made to ourself. These nonchalant resolutions usually turn out to
be nothing more than wishful-thinking born out of an annual tradition.

My recipe for success this year is to put two words before each goal and before each action. Those magic words are “I choose.”

Any everlasting change comes first with a true commitment to the change and then taking responsibility for the change.

We can take responsibility for the change we choose and our choices by choosing them on a daily basis and in every action. Our inner-selves must DECIDE, therefore we get to CHOOSE!

I encourage you this year to choose the benefit that wishful resolution offers you and choose to focus daily on the positive result it produces. Be sure to take consistent action towards accomplishing it.

For me, one choice I will continue to make throughout the year is listening to God for all of my choices. This will increase my zest for fruitful living including love, peace and joy.

True happiness comes from within. “You choose.”