When You Want to Start Fresh But Are Afraid to Fail – A New Perspective on New Year’s Resolutions

This post is part of the ongoing Hope for Moms series! To read all the posts in this series, click here!

Are you the type of person who actually follows through with all their New Year’s resolutions? 

If so, then you probably aren’t reading this post ;)

More often than not, I fall into the category of those who consistently make–and then proceed to break–a whole bunch of “resolutions” that will make my life better, easier or more complete (and more organized, and…)

As we were rolling quickly through December, I began to think that maybe I shouldn’t be resolving to do anything new this year. What’s the point if I just get discouraged and frustrated, finding myself in the mode of a lot of “thinking”, but not much “doing”?

Does the whole concept of “yearly goals” seem as pointless to you as it does to me sometimes? Hoping for change but constantly taking two steps forward and one step back?

As I was sitting on a plane on December 30th, my part in our family vacation interrupted so I could fly back home to say my final goodbye to my sweet grandmother, I began to think: maybe I’ve got this all wrong.

I want to accomplish many things for the good of my home, my family and my faith, but I never get started. Mostly because I’m afraid to fail.

Almost 67 years ago, when my grandmother was a new bride and then soon after found herself expecting her first child, she didn’t do a lot of pondering about her “yearly goals”. She just DID.

There were no online groups to keep her accountable, no printable worksheets to keep her life perfectly organized, no blog posts to read about how to be a farmer’s wife and newlywed and a new mom (all at almost the same time).

She might have felt internal pressure to be a “good wife”, but by the example of her own mother and the encouragement of her faith, she “pressed on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14), likely making a lot of mistakes along the way.

This year, if you feel as overwhelmed as I do by the constant stream of social media tips and Pinterest pins pressuring teaching you how to get your life perfectly in order (and keep it there), just remember this one thing:

You will fail. But God is faithful.

I will likely yell at my kids and get frustrated with them at the end of a long day…again. I will probably binge on sweets again at some point and need to start my healthy lifestyle resolution over…again. My house won’t become magically organized overnight and my to-do list will probably go undone…again. 

My personal progress and growth is painstakingly slow, at times completely stagnant. Perhaps you feel the same.

But it’s still valuable to think on things that are worth changing. Pursuits that are noble, true and good. A desire to create an environment that is best for us and our families is a God-given trait of mothers all around the world.

This year, instead of getting ahead of yourself and sabotaging your New Year’s resolutions, or giving up on them completely because you are afraid of the inevitable failure that comes with being human, just DO. And let the Lord show you the way you should go. After all, He’s already done it all for you.

“When you don’t know what to do next, simply do the next thing.” Elisabeth Elliot

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