unresolved as of yet

So I've been pondering the turn of the year, and the propensity for making resolutions. I've never really done that before. It's always seemed like a futile effort to provide motivation. Like dangling an unobtainable carrot.

I guess I've always assumed that resolutions had to be huge. Like losing 50 pounds by next week. Or never yelling at my kids. ever. again. Or doing an hour of bible reading and praying every day.

And then the guilt would be just too too much when, not if, I failed. Because I would. A resolution is not enough to make me perfect. So why, I thought, should I set myself up for that?

But then on Friday I read Tsh's post about goal setting; and yesterday a friend mentioned that he sees resolutions as a form of prayer, and told a story about how his conscious effort to seek out the things he had resolved upon had actually made a huge difference in his business and his life.

I think I'm seeing things differently now. I'm still pondering it. I'll probably go through Tsh's list of questions and think about what goals I want to set. There's definitely things that I want in my life, and I've never really been intentional about getting them.

It's the paradox between wanting a better life versus being thankful for what you have. I've been more focused on the latter, I think. And perhaps I need a bit more balance.