A Wise Resolution

So it's the second day of a new year...how many of us are already feeling let down by our resolution to do or be or act differently than in years past? I like to set goals for myself for a new year and as I've gotten older I've learned not to be quite as hard on myself as I might have been a few years ago. Like most people I want to make changes in my life. But I also tend to be a perfectionist of sorts and can develop an attitude that if I've messed up I might as well give up. Forget about the resolution altogether. If I can't meet the expectation perfectly then I might as well not even try. I've reached a point in life though where I've learned to give myself permission to start over again, to re-resolve if you will. Is that cheating? I don't think so...I mean my goal is to make a change in some area of my life and if it takes 380 days as opposed to 365 well, the ultimate goal has still been met...I've eliminated a bad habit, established a good habit, grown in some area, learned something.

I'm joining in a 31 Day Challenge over at Pete Wilson's blog and I encourage you to check it out. He is inviting anyone who is interested to read thru the book of Proverbs during the month of January and since there are 31 chapters in Proverbs and 31 days in January the two are made for each other. I'm reading the ESV version of the Bible and the notes at the start of the book say the purpose of Proverbs is to instill wisdom in her readers, '...practical wisdom-instruction in wise dealing, intellectual wisdom-increase learning, moral wisdom-righteousness, justice and equity, and probing-to understand a proverb' ..it is for all people-the naive and the experienced, young and old alike.

And I'm a day late getting started and maybe a few years ago I would have said to myself that if I couldn't begin on day 1 then I wouldn't begin at all. But not today. Today I read two chapters and caught up and hope to stay caught up. What better way to begin a new year? A new decade? A new day?