By Eddie Pipkin
Let’s make some resolutions, kids! It’s that time of year, and as people of ritual and calendar-based customs, it’s a fine exercise in thoughtful visioning to get on the 2023 resolutions bandwagon. And I’m not just going to produce a generic ministry resolutions list for next year – oh, no – I’m going to bare my soul to give you a glimpse into my own personal resolutions for the upcoming 12 months and suggest to you that what’s good for me may — just may — in some way also be beneficial for you as well!
First of all, let me be transparent and confess myself as a lifelong resolution resistor. I’ve always been that guy at the end of December who rolled his eyes at the folks who were sharing their resolutions for the new year. That is, until recently. I scoffed impetuously at people and their grand, enthusiastic goals, and I reserved my most stringent antipathy for those who were continuing whole hog with their bad old habits for one, final, debaucherous week until starting a new lifestyle on a specific calendar date (e.g. “I’m gonna eat all the bad stuff until January 2nd, but then, you wait and see. . . .”). I was always on the sideline tossing in comments like “If it’s important enough to do it January 2nd, why not start today?” In general, I always felt the idea of New Year’s resolutions was a performative sideshow, a substitute for true personal discipline.
Maybe it was the pandemic that broke my arrogance and softened my stance, but these days I’m a fan of anything (performative or not) that leads to personal or institutional progress.
I do think, at least for the purposes of this blog, that there is a difference between making a resolution and setting a goal.
A goal is a strategic objective, a quest for a quantifiable end result. Once we set a goal, we establish steps to achieve that goal, and we work relentlessly to brin