The more I think about it, the less convinced I become that New Year’s is the time for resolutions. There is way too much pressure. The average resolution is broken about 19 minutes after it’s made, and if you’re more concretely resolved, you may make it to February. Me, I don’t even remember the resolutions I made this year.
That confession made, when I go outside after a drowning April rain and smell the grass and hear the birds and see the flowers blooming, I am more resolved than ever to begin again.
I decide to get fit, to read more, to call my mom, and write a letter to my grandmother. I decide I will eat less sugar, drink less coffee, watch less TV. Before I have even put down my pen from listing all the changes to come, I feel overwhelmed. Why is starting over such an overwhelming idea?
Making a change in your life for the better, and sticking with that decision, can only happen if you believe that it will be worth the fight. Believe me, change is a fight, and often times an uphill one. Every day, you must decide that you are worth fighting for.
You may become discouraged. But you are strong enough. You may face negativity. But you are strong enough. You will probably face a setback! But you are strong. You are stronger than you think you are, stronger than others think you are, and stronger than what you are facing. You are stronger, and you are worth a new start. You are worth whatever Band-aids and elbow grease it will take to begin again.
Be encouraged! I love that quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” You have the power to make decisions about your own life and your own future. If you don’t like how things are going, change them! If you don’t believe in what you are doing, do something else! Starting again is about taking control of your life and deciding that you are valuable enough to renew and revise and revive.
It is never too late. You are never too far past a turning point. You can always change your life for the better.
-Emi Cooper, AFW Blogger