Last Year’s Resolutions

Perfecting oneself is timeless. There are no start dates or end dates. There are only series and steps, moderations and milestones.

Whatever your goals were last year, if you feel you didn’t quite accomplish them, you can still aim for them in 2026. Recycle them, reuse them. The year 2026 isn’t even your limit. You can set almost any goal without a time limit. All long-term goals are accomplished through short-term goals.

Of course, The Anointed One, Jesus, knew this. He tells us to learn by the method of “line upon line, precept upon precept”, which means to take it all in small bites. Don’t try to be perfect in one day, or don’t try to learn the entire gospel in one session. Get there through daily repentance and attainable perfections.

We could insert a load of maxims here, such as: Don’t bite off more than you can chew–OR–Take it one day at a time. They may be cliches and overused, but they’re still valuable advice.

Consider the first one. If you bite off more than you can chew, you’ll end up spitting it all out. Metaphorically, it means you quit.

Dont quit.

There’s nothing in this life you can’t handle. That’s the double negative way of saying, “You have the ability to handle, to chew, to follow through, anything that comes your way.” Of course, depending on the size of the problem or the obstacle, you may have to use some sense. You may have to take smaller bites.

It’s also possible what you really need is to redefine what you want.

There are so many people this time of year who want to “lose weight”. A beneficial notion is to redefine that desire. Since fat is more voluminous per ounce than muscle, the better goal could be to lose volume.

“I want to shrink my waistline,” may be a better mantra for those wanting to lose volume.

It’s also possible that those who want to “lose weight” could be thinking they want to create a healthier lifestyle with regular exercise and good eating habits. In that case, you have the beautiful mingling of two short-term goals to achieve a long-term goal.

Those short-term goals could easily be broken up into small steps. “Regular exercise” can be shortened to monthly goals, separated into weekly chunks, and even measured daily. “Good eating habits” could even be measured per meal, and all the snacks in between, or the elimination of said snacks.

Whichever way you decide to change your perception, redefine your desire, or measure your progress, please remember to not quit. You’re worth every bit of this year’s and last year’s resolutions.