Reflecting On My New Years Resolutions

I’ve set a lot of goals for this year, and I wanted to write a bit about how they’re going and which ones have been the most impactful. At the beginning of the year, our Chaplain at work had every team member write down goals in the four major categories of life, which he calls the quadrants. They are: Personal/Spiritual, Marriage/Family, Business/Vocational, Community/Church.

The Goals

I want to share my goals for three of the four quadrants because I don’t feel the need to talk about Business/Vocational on my personal site.
Personal/Spiritual:
- Don’t let two days pass without having a personal bible study.
- Cardio 3 days a week, walk or run.

Marriage/Family:
- Family Budget
- Bi-monthly family meetings

Community/Church:
- Serve at church
- Have a game night with friends once a month

The Reality

I’m doing well on some categories and not so great on others.

I have only let two days pass without having a bible study two times, both of which I was sick. I’m really happy with my progress here, and this is by far the most consistent I have ever been in my spiritual life.

Cardio has been going great as well. I started the year by walking to work three days a week. Since then, I have leveled up a bit and am now running three days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:45 am, I run two miles, and Saturdays at 6:00 am, I run three miles. I’d like to keep improving here, but I’m generally proud of my progress.

The family budget is not going well. I’m having a hard time finding an app that works well for me and is easy to track all our transactions. We used EveryDollar for years, but I might swap over to YNAB.

Bi-monthly family meetings are going “ok.” I’d say it’s more like once a month, but we have many smaller conversations and generally are on the same page, which is what matters.

I have gotten the ball rolling with serving at church, but I need to reach back out to leadership to confirm. Truthfully, I’ve been putting this off because life has felt very busy right now.

Lastly, game nights. This has been good, and kind of happened organically. We don’t have a dedicated night a month we play, but we also seem to invite a couple over or get invited to a game night at least once a month. I think Jess and I are both happy and fulfilled with our social life.

The Takeaway

I think the most impactful habit I’ve developed has been a consistent, quiet, intentional time in The Word. I’ve seen a lot of spiritual growth over the last six months, and I feel like I have a better understanding of the personality and character of God.

I plan to continue with my current habits and maybe add a couple more to the second part of the year. I have a pile of books on my bedside table I’d love to knock out.