Did you know that most New Years resolutions made on January 1 are forgotten about by January 14?
Many people make New Years Resolutions when they really should commit to a New Years Resurrection.
Resurrection signifies a new life:
- New Identity
- New Commitment
Here is why this works better than New Year's Resolutions.
A New Identity
Lasting change requires a change in identity.
Here is an example: A person has practiced gluttony for years. Now, they call themselves a "glutton."
What do you think will happen when they try to change their habits?
The new habits may last about a week, but because the person believes they are a "glutton," they will feel uneasy because their actions do not line up with the person they believe they are.
They will eventually drift back to the last place of known comfort - the old habits.
The Bible asks in Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
This wisdom can also apply to agreement with yourself.
Is your identity inconsistent with that of a fit and healthy person?
If not, then that would explain why you have difficulty practicing the habits of a fit and healthy person long-term.
A New Commitment
When a person does not establish commitment from the beginning, it is easy for them to lose focus during the daily routine of life.
Because they started their plan with a shallow reason, it doesn't take much for that reason to become uprooted under pressure!
However to succeed, you need a better approach. Establish your reason for committing to your change, one day at a time - one that takes into account your life purpose and positive impact on the people you love.
Realize that this process is not about living a diet; it about living your life one day at a time, making progress with every positive choice.
Committing to a resurrection also means that something has to die.
Some of the old habits that got you overweight are going to have to die.
And the enemy will make you feel like you are going to die when you don't do them.
But he is a liar - you will live and not die!
Each time you kill an old habit, and build a healthy one in its place, a new person is coming to life.
Keep that in mind.
Even though your new habits may feel uncomfortable at the beginning, they are sinking into your procedural memory each time you practice them.
This is a key to lasting success.
The Power of Procedural Memory
Wouldn't it be terrible if you had to re-learn how to brush your teeth every morning, comb your hair, or drive to way to work?
Thankfully, you don't have to do that.
God gave you a wonderful gift called your procedural memory, which allows your brain to memorize patterns so you don't have to re-learn tasks that you do repeatedly.
You just do them without thinking about them much.
When you keep practicing your new healthy habits each day, then they become part of your procedural memory with time.
That is why patience is so important in this process. It takes time for your procedural memory to grasp new patterns.
At the first, second, or even 3rd fall, they'd say, "Forget it. I'm a failure. I never do anything right. I might as well just stay as I am because I can't change."
Imagine a world of 40, 50, 60, and 70 year-olds still crawling around in diapers!
That would be a disaster.
But babies keep practicing walking until their legs get strong and walking becomes second nature to them.
So it will be with you if you don't give up. When you let time work for you, your memory will become your biggest ally in staying on track.
Determine that this year, you will commit to a New Year's Resurrection. And this time next year, you will be living in newness of life as God promised:
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)."