I love New Year’s resolutions! The problem for me, is that I’m a chronic breaker of my resolutions. Well, I used to be. Last year, I decided to try a new way to resolve that actually works for me. I’ve decided to stop being greedy and let everyone in on my resolution secret — but I’ll be honest, I’m hesitant to not label it “The Candace Method.” This is my new way of resolving, and perhaps it’ll be helpful for you, as well.
Last year, I decided to resolve to “Make Fear My [Expletive].” Yes, you read that correctly. Fear has controlled my life for far too long, and 2017 was the year I decided to go thematic with my resolutions, rather than set a specific goal. Having my theme for the year be “Make Fear My [Expletive]” meant that I would be in charge of fear; fear would not be in charge of me. In every nook and cranny of my life, I would hunt fear down and attack it head on. When circumstances arrived in my life and a decision had to be made (daily), I would choose intelligence, rationale and wisdom over fear.
This change in my outlook lead me to question my faith, convert to a new faith, go back to my previous faith, face big marital issues, tell people about my many problems and risk being abandoned by friends, start parenting from my gut (as opposed to parenting from my books), start a business, and so much more. You see, when you decide to resolve in themes you end up opening yourself up to growth in areas you may not have thought of before. You cease beating yourself up with your deficiencies and telling yourself you must get better, do more and be more. You simply rest in who and what you have, and use those tools to stretch yourself. Through using tools you already possess to stretch yourself, you end up gaining new tools and giving yourself freedom and grace to expand. What does this look like practically? Instead of saying “I want to lose weight,” “I want to do better on my diet,” or “I want to read more,” you simply say, “I want to live fully”. The theme here is to “Live a Full Life.” You make a positive statement and set the theme. As the year goes on, you should ask yourself the question, “Am I living a full life?” often. This will look drastically different throughout the year, and that is the point. You will learn to move with life, not against it.
When this year ended, I looked back at it and felt confident that I achieved what I set out to do. In 2017, I made fear my complete [expletive]. In 2018, God allowing, I’m “Walking in What I’ve Learned.” What will this look like? I have no idea. I do know that I will move forward. This year, my husband has decided to join me in using “The Candace Method.” (Yes, I’m seriously calling it that.) I truly hope that 2018 proves to be your best year yet!
What theme will you set for your year?
