You reach the middle of the year, sit down for a dose of self-reflection, only to discover that your good-idea-at-the-time-New-Year-resolutions fell by the wayside somewhere around the Ides of March or April’s Fool.
The fanfare around the ending of one year and the beginning of the next brings with it a stream of advice on how to set our New Year’s resolutions. And we follow those advice to the letter, setting our resolutions with the best of intentions, only to find that we somehow cannot keep up. Or we revert to our old habits and return to doing all the things we resolved not to do while ignoring the things we resolved to do.
I have a history of failed relationships with every resolution I’ve ever set. It was the same long hard road this year but all that changed when I came across an article in a 2022 issue of Frankie magazine featuring a woman’s ‘more and less list’ for that year, where she shared all the things she wanted to do more of, and everything she intended to do less of.
A light bulb moment for sure. And so, instead of that hard-to-stick-to list of new year resolutions, I decided to draw up my own more and less list. I’ve found that it somehow works well with my introverted nature.
Read on and let me know if any of this matches your list, and share your tips and your journey in the comments section below.
Listen More, Talk Less
Be still, and know that I Am God;
I find solace in solitude and but I’ve often struggled with quieting my tumultuous thoughts and inner turmoil, so much so that whenever I find some space in my day, all I do is talk at God.
Instead of sitting still and allowing His Holy Spirit to work in me and through me, I start complaining. I whine about everything that’s wrong with my life, and everything I’m doing wrong and need help with, and everything other people are doing wrong and God should correct, and so on and so forth. Just babble babble babble.
All my soliloquies and monologues didn’t improve my situation one bit. They certainly didn’t make me feel heard. All they did was increase my anxiety and stress levels.
I’ve resolved to listen more. To calm down and listen to God and to the promptings of His Holy Spirit. To enjoy my quiet times with Him by first quieting down and worship Him in silence. To speak His praises first in my heart and then with my mouth. To truly listen to His heart and know who He is. That He is God.
I’ve also resolved to listen when someone tries to engage me in conversation. As an introvert, I’ve often fought against my quietness and tried to show myself as an outgoing not-shy person, and all that did was made me feel like a pretender.
More Speaking the Truth in Love, Less Self-Righteousness and Less Faking It
Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth
John 17:17
Words spoken, especially those spoken harshly and those spoken with the intention to hurt, like gossip, is often compared to opening a feather pillow on a windswept day.
The idea is that it would be near-impossible to gather back those feathers once they’re in the wind.
Gossip and gossiping were my way of trying to make myself look better. Gossip, as we all know, is designed to make the other people – the ones we’re gossiping about – look bad. I formatted my gossip in a way that called into question someone’s faith, and whether they were real believers, whether they were real Christians.
People don’t like gossipmongers. And I didn’t like what I was becoming, a self-righteous-know-it-all.
I’ve resolved to pour grace into my speech and to remember that I am a sinner saved by God’s grace. Everyone deserves a second chance and the only perfect person is Jesus Christ Himself.
I’ve also resolved to be more honest in my conversations with God. To stop pretending to be something He already knows I’m not. Now my prayers are filled with my true heart cry and not empty platitudes.
Read the Bible More, Less Reading About the Bible
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105
I’ve tried different Bible reading plans and went only so far with them. It was because I was more comfortable reading about what other people said or wrote about the Bible, rather than taking the time to prayerfully ask God to show me how He wanted me to read His word and to know Him.
Now, I go first to God in prayer and I ask Him to point me to the right path, the right direction that He wants me to take.
Write More, Watch YouTube Less
Go now, write it on a tablet for them,
Isaiah 30:8
Journaling, including writing out my prayers in my journaling Bible is something I’ve resolved to do more of.
I’ve kept a journal on and off through the years and those times when I’ve kept up the habit have been times marked with clarity of mind and ease of spirit.
I now minimise my use of YouTube to play classical music like Chopin’s Nocturnes, Debussy’ Claire de Lune or Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as background music while I write.
Your turn
There is a plethora of steps and plans available online on how to keep to your New Year’s resolutions. This more and less list is simply one of them.
Whichever way you choose, remember to pray about it first, and see where the Holy Spirit takes you.
Here’s to another year.
Featured image: Photo by Kaique Rocha from Pexels
