My Un-Resolutions (The cry of my heart...)

I don’t actually believe in resolutions in a traditional sense.  I think randomly deciding to change a habit or alter your life course simply because of the new calendar is silly.

Now, I definitely believe in setting goals.  Life goals, seasonal goals, short-term goals – without a goal to reach for we’ll never have any real focus on a destination nor any idea how far we’ve really come.  Most of my goals are somewhat malleable; they change as I enter into new seasons of life.  I’ve had several conversations over the last few weeks about ‘resolutions’ and goals that have got me thinking and ‘chewing on’ this topic…

I suppose I could call these my un-resolutions, as they’re not something I’ve randomly decided to change in my life. Perhaps a better way to say it would be these are the cries of my heart.  These are the things I want to focus my emotional energy and time on, not only in the coming year, but what I’ve been working on for months/years past and will continue on in the future.

1. Pursue excellence, not perfection.   

                This applies to everything in my life, honestly.  I love this quote by Michael J. Fox – “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.”  I definitely have the nature and personality of a perfectionist in many (though definitely not all) areas of my life!   But reality is, perfection will never be attained here on earth, and to strive for it will only lead to disappointment.  Excellence is giving to the best of your ability, honoring God, your coworkers, your friends, your family, your body and health – and at the end of the day, resting in the fact that that is enough.

2. Be a better friend.

                I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.  I’ve actually believed for a long time that I’m just not a very good friend; I’m selfish, needy, and fall pretty low on the ‘coolness’ scale.  However, over the last several weeks I’ve come to realize that’s not truth – the truth is, I’m human, and I’m learning what it means to be a good friend and love well.  To say “I’m a terrible friend” is condemning and ultimately speaking lies!  The honest desire in my heart is to be a better friend – because we always have room for growth, to pursue excellence in relationships.  I don’t know what that looks like, exactly, but my prayer is that God would show me how to love better, give me words to say, recognize needs without them being spoken, and point out opportunities to bless others. 

3. Run.

                This (sort of) goes with number 1 – I want to continue to pursue excellence in my running. A year ago I never would have called myself a runner, but that is what I am! I want to continue to push myself to excellence in running – run further, stronger, better, faster.  Maybe run some more races this year, but maybe not.  I never want to get legalistic about my running, or run so much it isn’t fun anymore.  I don’t have a number of miles I have to run or a time I MUST beat – those things, while not at all bad and even good for many people - are just a hindrance to me and cause me to fall into the legalism of perfectionism.  I just want to continue to pursue excellence in my running and in the care of this body!

4. Say YES to adventure.

                This is nothing new.  If you know me, you know I’m an adventurer at heart. I mean, look at what I do, where I live!  But a friend said something to me last summer that I’ll never forget, when I was trying to decide, at the last minute, to run a 200-mile relay race.  He said – “You’ll never regret shared adventures with friends”.   And I wholeheartedly believe it to be true.  I said yes to that adventure and it was incredible.  I want to continue to face new things, adventures, and life changes with this mentality. 

5. Be thankful.

                I absolutely love how blogging my ‘thankful lists’ has affected my everyday approach to life, difficult situations, interactions with people and quirks of life on the ship.  I want this to grow in me, my ability to recognize blessings and be grateful for the incredible gifts I am surrounded with, no matter what my circumstances have to say.

This is by no means an exhaustive nor an exclusive list, though I hope and expect these things to remain priorities as I continue to pursue my calling, identity, and mission in life.  I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog (all comments will be moderated before posting) or send me an email at krissyonmercy at gmail dot com.

One final thought below. Love to all! krissy