Happy New Year! For many people, the turn of the calendar means that it’s time to make resolutions. It seems fewer people are doing that each year. I read a report recently that 37% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, most having to do with improving health and finances. While most people are confident about their resolutions in January, the average resolution lasts just under four months. Maybe the high failure rate is one of the reasons that fewer people make resolutions now.
I’ve never been into the idea of resolutions. For one reason, I work on an academic calendar so the start of my year is really around August, which is when I do my major goal-setting for the year. In January, I revisit those goals. I celebrate the places where I’ve made progress and decide whether any of my goals need to be revised or discarded. I think of my goals more as hopes than resolutions. They are always evolving to accommodate the realities of my life. Because life be lifin’. Sometimes life circumstances do not support the hopes that I had at a different point in the year. That is not failure; it’s a signal that I need to adapt my goals.
Self-care is always prominent among my goals. Over the past few years, I’ve broadened my approach to goal-setting to focus not just on what I want to do, but who I want to be. I focus on getting clear about my values and priorities in five areas: what I want to do, what I want to learn, who I want to be, who I want to spend time with, and what I want to own. For each area, I also reflect on why it’s important to me and how I plan to live it out.
This process takes a little longer than the typical resolution-making process. But taking the time to get clear about my priorities at the beginning of the year (whether it’s a calendar year, an academic year, or a fiscal year) helps me to make decisions that are aligned with those priorities during the rest of that time.
I invite you to join me in this process. Below you’ll find the worksheet that I’ve been using to do this for the past few years. If you use it, please drop me a comment to let me know how it works for you.
Next week, I’ll return to my regular Wednesday schedule. I’ll share some tips about developing a Rule of Life, including a planning worksheet that you won’t find anywhere else!
In Case You Missed It
In mid-December I had the privilege of being a guest on Beyond the Gatekeepers, a weekly broadcast discussing current events through a theological and justice-informed lens. I had a great conversation with Bishop Vanessa M. Brown and Bishop Yvette A. Flunder about the critical importance of self-care at this moment in history. You can watch the recording here. And be sure to follow Beyond the Gatekeepers on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for their powerful weekly conversations.
Apply for Writing for Mystic Activists Retreat
Applications are being accepted now for the 5th Writing for Mystic Activists retreat, held July 10-16, 2024, at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville Minnesota. Co-sponsored by the Writing for Mystic Activists is an invitation to join me and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove for a week of attention to writing as a contemplative practice for activists and clergy. It is an opportunity to connect with a long tradition of resistance writers, develop your craft, and build community with others who experience a similar vocation. The Collegeville Institute covers all workshop fees, housing, meals, and travel expenses within the continental United States. Applications are due on Monday, January 29, 2024.