New Year, Fresh Start

Monday, January 2, 2017

Everyone always thinks of the new year as a fresh start. Most people set resolutions and goals, or at least attempt a new diet or exercise plan. I have been known to set the same new years resolutions year-after-year, only to fail. There's a reason for that, ya know... the thing about a fresh start is that we have to keep working at it every day. Fresh starts happen every day, even when it doesn't feel so fresh anymore.

The problem is, we tend to look at fresh starts as a yearly occurrence. But depending on your level of self-discipline, the feeling of a fresh start may dwindle pretty dang quickly! Some people have more will-power than I do. However, it's well know that many people give up on their resolutions far before the end of the following year.

So what do we do when the motivation we had yesterday is gone today? What do we do when we are tired, weary, frustrated, or hopeless?

A new year means a fresh start, but so does a new month, a new week, a new day, and a new hour. Every moment is an opportunity to grow, live well, and improve. Make the choice to live life well in this new year and every day following. #livewell #newyear

Fresh Starts are a Choice

Here's the thing about fresh starts- they are a daily choice! They don't come once a year or once a month. They don't even come once a week. Fresh Starts come every day, every hour, and every minute.

We all make mistakes. We all fall short, and we all have moments of weakness. We are going to fail on our resolutions, goals, and dreams at least a little bit and at least for a short time. But if we failed an hour ago, that doesn't change the fact that we can still do a good job for the rest of the day.

Why do we so often feel that if we mess up once, we might as well give up and start again next year. Geesh! That is a terrible idea, guys! Just because you ate an entire pizza last night doesn't mean that the rest of your year is blown. Just because you smoked a cigarette after weeks of being clean doesn't mean that you should just quit. Whatever it is that you've failed at in the moment, dust yourself off, repent/make amends if need be, and make the rest of the day (and the next day, and the next) count!

Find Some Accountability 

Plain and simple- going it alone is just not as effective for most people. We all need someone to verbally "slap us in the face" when we get off track. We need someone who will tell it like it is and who truly cares about our goals and well-being.

Oh, and your accountability partner needs to be someone who is self-disciplined on their own.
What's the point in asking someone to keep you accountable who is undisciplined and probably won't even remember to check up on you? Answer- there is no point at all.

Forgive Yourself

Fresh starts require a lot of grace. They require that we forgive ourselves for our failures and that we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. Fresh starts can only exist if we believe in ourselves, and we aren't going to believe in ourselves if we cannot let go of our past failures.

Seriously, guys! Let it go. We have got to give ourselves grace, forgive ourselves, trust God for his help, and believe that we can accomplish what we have set out to do.

How to Make This New Year a Fresh Start | #Newyear #newbeginnings #livewell


Friends, mistakes are inevitable. But fresh starts are all about making the choice to move forward and do well NOW. Forget what you did yesterday, or even an hour ago. Your fresh start begins as soon as you decide that it does!

I'm here cheering you on. And I wish you a wonderful, goal-achieving new year!

What are your goals for the new year? Do you need to improve in any of the areas I talked about today? Comment below.



11 comments

  1. Love this and the approach. You are so right. I have a goal to run 17 races this year. With my knee arthritis, I have to focus on less distance, so I decided I could be motivated by doing more races but shorter races. I also want to really niche down and get focused in my blog and biz so I can help the women who really need my help and support.

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  2. Great motivation! It's so hard to stick to resolutions.

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  3. That's such an important point when it comes to making resolutions or goals, just because you made a mistake once does not mean you should give up for the day or the year!! Beautifully written and said

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  4. This is fantastic! You are so right - we all need to have patience with ourselves and hold each other accountable. I always feel bad asking a friend to be my accountability buddy but it truly is helpful for both of us. I need to get past that. I have several resolutions this year but they all add up to being more mindful, kind, healthy, productive, and reducing stress. I try to make my resolutions blanket-resolutions: something that I can apply to an entire year that will better myself and others overall.
    Best of luck with all you hope to accomplish in 2017! I'm sure you can do it all!
    xoxo Lauren I Glitter & Grandeur

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  5. YES!!! I love this post! Every day is a fresh start! We chose intentional as our word of the year, and I feel like it goes right along with this! We want to be intentional each day to have a fresh start! :)

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  6. This is such an encouraging post for the new year! I love the point about giving yourself grace. That is so important! Really enjoyed this post!

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  7. I agree 100%! I've never been big about setting goals, really, after graduating college I rarely set goals for myself! However, this year has been a big eye opener for me so I'm hoping to challenge and stretch myself. I'm here for you if you need an accountability partner! :) Love you!

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  8. I love that we can choose to start over every single day. I think that my biggest personal goal this year is to focus on family more and work less.

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  9. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.... :)

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  10. I love the point about fresh starts being a choice. That's part of the reason I don't get super into NY's -- I can choose a fresh start whenever I want! haha

    Rachel | The Confused Millennial

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  11. So important to remember these things. If you have faith and keep going even when it feels like we'll never make it. For every little effort you put forth, God will reward you several times over.

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