2 questions and 1 action to kickstart 2022

Happy New Year, everyone!

Are you much for New Year resolutions? Have you ever thought to yourself, "This year I'm going to... _________" (fill in the blank with your goal).

It's a pretty normal thing to take time to think about where we are and where we want to be. Every January I begin a new journal, and the first few pages of my journal are always filled with the same things each year:

  • A few pages listing all the good things that happened the previous year

  • A few pages where I reflect on where I'm at in 12 key wellness areas of my life (a subjective score out of 10), why I'm there, how I can improve, and a small, measurable goal / action (sometimes more than one) for each wellness area

For example, one area of wellness I track is my physical health and wellbeing. In 2021 I gave myself a lower score than 2020 because I exercised much less than the previous year. My improvement goal is to run ~50 km a month for the first three months, and then see where I'm at. My other improvement goal is to sleep 30 minutes later each morning to help ensure I'm getting enough rest.

However, it's not enough to simply pick a new habit we want to start. It's better to first have a vision for the kind of person we want to be, and then choose the habit that will help move us in that direction. If I want to run, but have no reason for doing so other than I heard running was good for me, I would not be very motivated to keep going. But if I decide I want to be a healthy person, and I understand how running will help me become the person I want to be, I'm much more likely to do it and keep doing it.

There are two questions from Scripture that help assess where we are and where we want to be. The first comes from 1 Kings 19:9 and again in 19:13. This is God's question to Elijah while he's in despair at Mount Horeb:

While Elijah was on Mount Horeb, the Lord asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”

The second question is one Peter asks Jesus in John 13:36:

Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” 

"Why are you here?" and "Where are you going?" are excellent questions to ask yourself every January.

PAUSE and REFLECT: The 12 areas of wellness I assess each January are:

  • Spiritual life

  • Emotional life

  • Physical life

  • Character growth

  • Marriage

  • Relationship with my children

  • Community and relationships with others

  • Vocation

  • Recreation

  • Creative pursuits

  • Travel

  • Finances

I chose these 12 because they are all important to me. You may have different ones, less, or more.

I invite you to choose one of the above areas (or a different one) and pause for a few minutes to ask yourself (or better yet, imagine Jesus asking you), "Why are you here?" (at your current level of wellness) and "Where are you going?" (what type of person do you want to be in that area).

Then choose one small, repeatable action you can take this year to help you become that person (if you want help in this area, I recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear).

Two simple questions and a simple, repeatable action can help kickstart your journey into wellness in 2022.

Remember, another term for holistic wellness is shalom. It is God's desire to see you well in every facet of life. So walking our path to being well and healthy in 2022 is one way we honour God as Lord of our lives, because we are moving toward his preferred future for us.

This year, may God's peace (shalom) be with you more closely and more powerfully than you have ever experienced before.

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Photo by Natalie Grainger on Unsplash

spiritual formationNick OsborneAtomic Habits, resolutions, New Year, habitsComment