Thought of the Day 01.05.09

If you are among the despondent who have already set, affirmed, and broken your New Year’s resolutions, let me give you some words of encouragement. Don’t give up on your resolution just yet, but perhaps try a different approach.

For the next full month (until February) live exactly as you always do in the area you want to fix, but pay better attention to yourself. When you do the thing you want to quit, pay attention to how it makes you feel, and how strongly. When you suffer the consequences, do the same. In other words, for a month, don’t change anything, just observe so that you can make a better diagnosis of why you do what you do and, most importantly, what it will cost you to change.

See, the Bible tells us to count the cost before we make a commitment, and most people go wrong in changing their lives by not even taking seriously what that commitment will cost them, even if it’s worth it. So do this for a month and then, come February, you’ll know two things: whether you still want to make the change and what it will actually cost you to do so.