Dear Reader,
Rachel Dodge, this week's guest author, teaches college English; speaks at libraries, literary groups, and teas; and writes for the popular Jane Austen's World blog. A true kindred spirit at heart, she loves books, bonnets, and ball gowns.
Rachel is the author of The Little Women Devotional, The Anne of Green Gables Devotional, and Praying with Jane. You can visit her online at www.RachelDodge.com
Rachel is giving away three copies of her new book, The Little Women Devotional. Authors love to hear from readers and when you contact her, you'll be entered in the book drawing. Rachel's email: [email protected]
Fail-Proof Resolutions
Did you make any resolutions this year? Have you already fallen off the wagon?
Me too!
A lot of people I know make New Year's resolutions, start new challenges, or decide on a theme for their year. And while some of them stick with it, most of them don't. Sound familiar?
That's why I prefer to set smaller, more reasonable goals that I will actually meet. Yearly goals overwhelm me, so I tend to stick with weekly or monthly goals I can list out and cross off.
The personal goals I set are things that I want to do and I'm likely to do. It's all about baby steps and reachable, reasonable goals.
Here are a few examples:
*I will finally buy myself new kitchen shears.
*I will treat myself to an ice cream cone when I get the rose bushes pruned.
*I will hug the people I love and tell them I think they're great.
*I will sort through my shoes and coats and donate a bag to help someone else stay warm.
*I will buy a pack of gum for the cashier when I get groceries.
*I will smile when I'm driving through town.
*I will curl up with a good book at least twice this week.
*I will do 20 minutes of exercise that's FUN--like dancing in the kitchen to music from my teen years!
You get the idea, right? These aren't obligations; they are joy-giving, life-enhancing goals. You can make up your own list and be as silly or serious as you like. Honestly, one of my goals is to cuddle my dog every day! Talk about fail-proof.
But you can fail-proof your more serious resolutions as well by making them joyful and by giving yourself incentives and doable tasks. If there's something you really want to do but can't seem to stick with, what about doing it a few times a week, rather than daily? Set a goal you can actually meet. You can always add to it as you go.
One of my goals two years ago was to start journaling each day so I could keep track of my prayers and praises. My goal was simple: Write something every day. My rules: It doesn't have to be fancy. Bullet points count. Bad handwriting is fine. Once I started, I found I enjoyed it. And because I enjoyed it, I stuck with it.
If you're already "over it" when it comes to resolutions, but you really do want to reach a few personal goals, try making your own fail-proof list. If you fall off the wagon, that's okay. Get back up, think about another way to go about it, and try again.
The best way to fail-proof your goals is to make them reachable and reasonable. Start small, have fun, and learn as you go!
-- Rachel Dodge
Email Rachel to be entered in the drawing for a copy of her new book, The Little Women Devotional, [email protected]
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
This month's Penguin Classics book is HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS, by Julia Alvarez, with a foreword by Elizabeth Acevedo. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.
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