Starting the new year requires reflecting on the past year: where we succeeded and where we failed. The new year is a blessing because, psychologically, it allows us to start over.
"OK, I did not do what I should have done last year, but I can start over this year."
But many people have trouble starting over because they are caught in the grief or rut of their mistakes. Grieving over your mistakes is good if it leads to repentance and change of behavior. Grieving over your mistakes is a waste of time if it is full of self-pity and does not lead to change. Most grieve over their mistakes in how it affected themselves, not how it affected others. When you grieve over how it affects others, that can lead to change.
Starting over requires you to forgive yourself, learn from your mistakes, and then work to not repeat them. Starting the new year requires you to have a forward looking focus, not a reverse. Set your goals, define the actions you need to take, the attitudes you need to promote; the relationships you need to mend or build, and then work on them. Not forgiving yourself actually leads you right back into the same behavior that caused you problems in the first place.
If you are habitually repeating failures, forgive yourself, set a plan, and then take action.
If you have not planned for this year, take this week to:
- Identify 3-4 goals you want to achieve this year. (Too many will lead to feeling overwhelmed.)
- Make them specific, measurable, reasonable, and attainable.
- Develop a plan of action in writing
- Post these goals on your bathroom mirror or other place of significance
One of the hardest things to do is to forgive yourself.
Micah 7: 18-19 says, "Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us: you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
When I screw up and see how badly I screwed up and the horrible consequences, I feel horrible. I ask, "How could I have been so foolish or stupid?" I beat myself over the head with my mistake and it can take a long time to forgive myself, if ever.
Two things are reflected in this situation.
- I assume that I am wonderful and am not prone to make great mistakes - that is called pride
- My pride won't let me forgive myself.
I see in Micah that God pardons my sins and totally forgives my transgressions. He is not angry with me but delights in showing mercy and forgiveness. If God can forgive me, then who am I that I cannot forgive myself? I am to rest in God's forgiveness and live in thankfulness and work to serve Him.
Shared from: http://birminghampostherald.com/index.php/community/item/290-forgive-and-make-goals-a-new-year-s-perspective#sthash.0k2fdDLM.dpuf
