What is it about the fact that when we turn our calendars on December 31st, we feel like we have a new chance to change our life for the better?
After all, the reality is it’s just another day.
The date doesn’t really matter.
Keep in mind, every single day offers the chance to change for the better, but for some reason on New Year’s the majority of us see that as a prime opportunity to commit (or rather often recommit) to certain things that we believe will make us a better person.
These “resolutions,” as we know, often quickly fall to the wayside within months, weeks, or even days.
And why?
- Perhaps it’s because we bit off more than we could chew.
- Maybe it’s because we didn’t count the cost before making our foolish promises.
Or more likely, it is the fact that we’ve committed to doing things that we have either failed to do or done many times before.
Realize that doing more of the same generally means more of the same. This is the classic definition of insanity, when we do the same thing over and over again yet somehow expect different results.
But that is exactly what many of us do with our New Year’s resolutions.
We make the same promises about the same habits and same disciplines hoping that for some reason, THIS TIME it’s going to turn out differently. Yet, in the back of our minds, we know all too well that it’s not going to be any different, and next year we’ll be back to making the same broken promises about the same things.
That said, regardless of the time of year, there is always a great opportunity to make a change in your life. And if you are a person who is trying to make a change in your life and is struggling with unwanted sexual behavior, my encouragement would be twofold.
First, make the decision to do something today, not tomorrow or on a certain day of the year.
Life is short.
Life is precious.
And you only get one, so don’t squander the opportunity you have in front of you.
Second, that “something” should be something new, not the same old thing.
Because, if you’ve been doing the same old thing for years and years and haven’t seen any progress, that should be your first clue that maybe the thing you’re doing isn’t going to work… ever.
I hate to break it to you, but…
- Reinstalling your filter, turning off your TV at certain times of the night, and adding parental controls to your devices, hoping that this time you won’t be tempted to work around those safeguards most likely is going to lead to disappointing results. Maybe focus on accountability and honest conversations about your internet usage instead?
- Rereading books about addiction and recovery for the third and fourth time generally will not serve as a catalyst for real change unless you put some of those principles into practice (assuming those principles have merit in the first place).
- Adhering to the idea that this time you will hold yourself more accountable so that you don’t have to tell anybody about your secret habits isn’t going to work as it never has in the past.
- And while going to church more, reading your Bible more, and praying more may be good spiritual disciplines, the truth is those practices are probably not going to lead to any real freedom or progress in your life if you are doing them with the wrong mindset.
Yes, now is a great time to make a change. But when you’re making that change, it needs to be a real change and not simply committing to doing more of the same.
It’s a new year.
Maybe you are hoping for a “new” you.
But the keyword in both those sentences is “NEW” and that’s what real change requires.
And, if you are interested in learning more about what “real change” looks like, check out the X3pure online video course.