What Are Your New Year’s Resolutions?

What are your New Year’s Resolutions? Are you aware of this study at Harvard – The Harvard Gazette: Good genes are nice, but joy is better?

What Are My New Year’s Resolutions?

1. Have good relationships
   • Self-love
   • Respect
   • Honesty
   • Trust
   • Communication
   • Learning about each other
2. Write more
   • Celebrate small wins
   • You are worthy of the money you make
3. Have an exercise routine
   • Do routines provided by Physical Therapist
   • Have a routine every morning
4. Eat healthier
5. Vegetables and fruits
   • More small meals
   • Track calories
6. Listen to books while doing other things (more reading)

How to Keep New Year’s Resolutions

To keep New Year’s Resolutions break them down into small manageable pieces. Make the resolutions easy to keep. I used a Bible verse to break down what love means.

I realize that my second resolution may be about my gender. It will take some work to overcome my own biases as a female, but I’ll try.

Details of How to Keep My New Year’s Resolutions

Bible Details of the First New Year’s Resolution

1. Have good relationships. First I must define what a good relationship is. In the ’70s we knew that “Love is All You Need” and “All You Need is Love” because the Beatles told us. But we weren’t quite sure what love was. In some instances, love was equivalent to sex. There were plenty of love quotes, but I wanted to understand love before I got married. I Corinthians 13:4-13 helped me understand. First, I knew that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), so no human could ever live up to what love truly was. The verses in I Corinthians state “4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, 5 it is not rude, is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always perseveres.            8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I’ve been working on and trying to get better at this my entire married life. I have accepted that I nor my husband will ever be perfect. I can, however, try to improve in the areas in the original list.




Gender Problems with the Second New Year’s Resolution

2. Write more – Even though I was born in a time and place where women were expected to work without being paid, I am worthy and do have the skills to be paid for my writing. In the small town that I’m from, my mother knew she could make more money in other places. But she stayed and worked for my grandfather, uncle, and Dad for less than nothing. I personally received less money when I worked in my home town but that was the sacrifice I accepted. Then celebrate, when I have successes, I should celebrate every achievement.

The last three are self-explanitory.

by Stephanie