or will it?  How many times must we go through the ongoing cycle of claiming a year to be “my year” when we have done nothing to prepare for a new beginning?  There is a scripture found in Mark 2:22 that states, “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.” 

 

I don’t know about you, but the clichés of the “New Year” are comical at this point in my life. I have come to realize that waiting for January 1st of any year to change my life is fruitless if I still have the mindset of December 31st the previous year. I understand that attempting to start afresh and new at the beginning of the year makes sense mentally to get our minds geared up for new changes. It’s no different than pigging out all weekend because we will start a diet on Monday. I know this because I have been telling myself this for years.

You have to ask yourself, “What’s so special about now that will prompt me to seriously make a change?”  There has to be something more than just because it’s a new year.  We have to have a present state of mind that recognizes that the current condition of our lives dictate that there is much needed change for survival and growth whether it is the beginning, middle or end of the year.

 Take control of your life now by taking inventory of what you have, decide what needs to go, what needs to be added and/or what needs to be deleted.  If you have been wallowing in self-pity and doubt or making excuses for why you cannot do better, or even the age old mentality of “not now but tomorrow”, then you can just… You will find yourself in the same place talking about what you did not accomplish the previous year and what you will do in the new year in a repeated cycle of failure.

We are already one full month into the New Year.  Ask yourself:  Am I on the right track?  Is my life going in the right direction?  Am I being true to myself by honoring my word as to where I want my life to be?  Am I getting an early start next year for more resolutions I never intended to keep?

What’s your breaking point? Will this be the time you say, NO MORE!!!! I have to get serious about my life and my life’s purpose. If you don’t, all you will be is just an aged failure by one more year. Before you know it time will have just passed you by and you will find yourself sharing wisdom with some young person about how not to squander life’s precious gift of time. Instead, how about make your life a testament of wisdom as to how you overcame and finally decided to make the best of your life by living it to the fullest and in the best possible way ever. I don’t want to be a cliché any more. I want to only look forward to making my life better with the passing of each year instead of constantly making fresh starts that only lead me back to…this will be my year, NOT!!!!

 

Let’s make this truly “our year” by doing those things we have been putting off for years that will make us healthy, stronger, better and triumphant!!!

Go back to church, Lose weight, Go back to school, Get a new job, Study harder, Be more loving and kind, Mend relationships, Read your Bible, Laugh more, Put the cigarettes down, Be faithful to your spouse, Be honest, pray more, Praise God more, Forgive others, Forgive yourself…

Whatever it is you need to do to be better !

Blessings and Inspiration,

ShannonAyersSpeaks