Spoiler Alert: If you are looking for one of those Rah-rah-rah-it’s-January-bring-on-the-New-Years- resolutions columns you’ll have to look elsewhere.
I, for one, don’t think you need to have a new year to elicit change in your life. What you do need, however, is more than just the desire to change. Because, as they say, nothing changes if nothing changes.
So whether it’s January 1st or May 23rd or August 10th or any other day of the calendar year, change can only begin the moment of the day YOU decide you are done with whatever it is you have been eating, drinking, smoking, watching, shopping or doing, and telling yourself is okay. Once you are ready to get past the contemplation stage and take action, here is my best suggestion for you (no matter what day of the year it is):
JUST TAKE THE NEXT RIGHT STEP!
For example…I have had an ongoing love/hate relationship with social media for months now. Basically, I really need to stop getting sucked into Facebook. I tell myself (and my husband who is annoyed with my habit) logging onto Facebook is an important activity for me because I am a writer who cares very deeply about her relationships with people…even those grade school friends I will likely never actually see again. So, I go there…to Facebook…several times a day. And I don’t even have a fancy phone! Can you imagine if I had a phone that had access to the Internet? Yikes!
In my gut I have known for months the reason I don’t get enough of my writing projects completed is because I am all too often distracted by social media. Then I spend even more precious moments justifying my actions, wasting even more time!
If I (a perfectly “normal” adult woman) can get sucked in to the comings and goings of others, their highlight reels, as well as their opinions about the most inconsequential of topics, how do we expect our kids NOT to get sucked in? I mean honestly, who the hell really cares which donut shop in Flower Mound is the best?!
So, for me, the next right step is to plan my day around just TWO Facebook logins. First thing in the morning, and after my kids go to bed each evening. I am embarrassed to admit it will be a stretch, but I also know it’s incredibly realistic and will ultimately help me achieve some of the other goals in my life.
And, the next step after that…decide when the two-a-days will start. Everyone’s hooked on changing January 1st, so I’m gonna wait until January 7th…my son’s twelfth birthday, and my favorite number!
I’ll let you know how the big change goes, until then work on getting one step past the contemplation stage of the change you need to make, and then make a commitment to just take the next right step.
Kimberly Muench is a Flower Mound mother of five and author of “My Mothers Footprints: A story of Faith, Calm, Courage, Patience and Grace.” To see more of her work or to contact her, visit www.mymothersfootprints.com.
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