The difference between resolutions and self-examination is doing your goals and becoming your goals. A good Christian practice is the practice of self-examination.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you fail to meet the test!
Self-Examination Leads to Transformation
How can you draw close to God when you are far away from yourself? Self-Examination leads to transformation. Isn’t this what we really want in the new year? Don’t we want to achieve balance finding faith, nurturing family and finding fun?
Reflect
As 2022 comes to a close, it’s an important time to reflect on all that you’ve accomplished this year. Whatever goals you’ve achieved and hurdles you’ve overcome–big or small–you deserve some time to relax, reset, and focus on you.
Prioritize You
Prioritizing yourself isn’t just about booking a massage appointment or hiring a babysitter for date night. It’s also about prioritizing the specific goals you want to achieve going into 2023.
Was there anything you wished you’d done this year that you haven’t? Are there any bad habits you need to break? Do you have any new dreams you want to see actualized? What are you grateful for? What are you anxious about?
Before you say, “I don’t have the time!” hear us out…
Time to Examine Your Life
It’s easy to convince ourselves that there is no TIME to find balance, have fun or grow our faith when we are juggling deadlines, work, health, and family. Most of us have no clue where our time even went. Examining your life is good practice for getting closer to who you are and who God wants you to be.
Planning
But when push comes to shove, there’s a secret to balancing your life. It’s called planning!
We get it. Planning isn’t for everyone. And that’s okay! But without a solid action plan in place, most people will spin in circles. So, to ease your planning woes, we’ve shared some of our best secrets on how to set AND achieve your balance goals in 2023.
3 Things to Set Yourself Up for Better Balance
Here are 3 things I recommend you do this week to get yourself all set up for an amazing year.
1. Make a list of your biggest lessons in 2022. What did you learn this year, both from the good things that happened, and from the bad? What can you use from this past year to propel yourself forward in 2023?
2. Get clear about your biggest goal. There’s probably lots of things you’d LIKE to do in the coming year, but if you could only focus on ONE thing, what would it be? Are you striving to find balance? Do you want some time to have a little fun this year? Are you hoping to get a grip on food planning and ideas for your picky eaters? Do you want to grow your faith or your family’s faith?
3. Make a plan. SMALL Daily Habits will affect the Biggest Change. I’m a big fan of a process I call “The Balance Brain Dump” Start by listing everything swimming around your head. It can be tasks, hopes and even worries. I am a chronic worrier and I spend way too much time worrying. This method helps to get that out of my head so I can move onto the important things.
Baby Steps
As you move forward into the new year, remember that small steps, taken over time, can lead to BIG things.
Just know that we’ll be in your corner, cheering you on every step of the way.
If you are finding it difficult to stay balanced in your faith, family and fun then reach out and join my newsletter. I have tips, systems and other ways to help you achieve your goal of balancing faith, family and fun.