Then, life gets in the way. Stress and pressures of daily life move us back into our comfort zone, far from our fresh start. In fact, research shows many of those goals we set are abandoned before we get out of January. Occasionally we pick up a few along the year to bring them new life, but often they don't get our attention again until we approach New Year's Eve and the resolution list is being made.

 

Too often we allow excuses to push us even farther from our fresh start. "I'll start back on my diet after the weekend." Or, "I'll volunteer my time as soon as I can get caught up this month." Or, "I'll get the family back in church as soon as summer is over." Or, "I'll start saving money as soon as we make this one last purchase." These types of comments just reinforce that what we need is a moment in time to be our motivation.

 

This weekend represents one of those moments. To use a football analogy, this weekend is halftime. Sunday marks the official start to the second half of the year. As such, this weekend is a great opportunity for some serious introspection. It's an opportunity to examine where you are and where you want to be.

 

As you consider what you want to do during halftime, here's what I encourage you to do:

 

Spend some time reflecting

 

At some point during the weekend, reflect on the enhancements you wanted to make in your life at the beginning of the year. If you've achieved them, celebrate your accomplishment. If you've made progress, stay on track. But if you've abandoned those enhancements or have simply gotten off track, you owe it to yourself (and those you care about) to get back on track. So, take the time to reflect on where you are and where you want to be.

 

Abandon the excuses

 

If you set extremely easy goals for yourself (or you're perfect), then you have accomplished everything you set out to achieve. An honest introspection will reveal we have some room for improvement. At this point, recommit to making it happen and abandon the excuses. "Work has been crazy" or "I've just been so busy" are some of the most common excuses. The excuse doesn't matter. Just recommit to making it happen!

 

Find someone to hold you accountable

 

It's harder to abandon our objectives when we have someone holding us accountable. If you gave up on a New Year's Resolution, there's a good chance you didn't have someone holding your feet to the fire. As you recommit to your objectives, identify someone to hold you accountable. And if you did have someone the first time around, fire that person and pick someone this time who can keep you committed!

 

As is the case with everything, a commitment to enhance our life is a choice. If you're happy with where you are, you can choose to stay on your current track. Or, if you want more, you can choose to do more to get you there. Either way, it is my hope that you make this Sunday, the halftime break to get set for the second half of the year, the opportunity to choose your direction. Here's to the next lesson!

 

God bless!

 

Enthusiastically,

 
Clint Swindall