Have you seen the movie 50 First Dates? Adam Sandler’s character meets Lucy, played by Drew Barrymore, who has no short term memory. He sets out to try to win her heart, but finds he must win her heart over and over Every NEW Day! That is exactly what I want to replicate in my own life, with my own desires, and my own goals. Is that weird? Sounds like I want to date myself…weird! But really, what better idea than to see the value in how you treat yourself? To spend each day, as if yesterday’s mistakes don’t matter, yesterday’s challenges are done, and today is the day that matters most. Today is the day when how I treat myself and how I treat others will determine my future. Today is the day that keeping my eye on the prize matters. TODAY… AND EVERY DAY!

So my New Years Resolution for 2018 is to see the value in winning myself over to the true desires of my heart, every day! That’s going to require a little planning, a lot of perseverance, a little… ok maybe a LOT of humor, and a bit of short term memory loss so I can give myself some grace when I need it! A little short term memory loss so I don’t sabotage my efforts to move forward by thinking about the failures of the past. Maybe I need a little of Finding Dory to keep me positive, reminding me “that when life gets you down…just keep swimming!” Or maybe I need a little more “Control-ALT-Delete” so I can simply reset and start over!

The last few years have been full of enormous changes for me. My children are nearly all grown. My role has changed at home with my transition to full time in my career. I’ve changed jobs and I’m now dealing with the anger and incredibly unprofessional conflict from my former boss. I find myself challenged professionally, personally, and emotionally. I am utterly unprepared for the kind of conflict I have been dealing with. And as a result I’ve made myself a LOW priority. I seek to escape, I seek to hide, and oh my Lord I can’t get enough sleep. I’m not exercising, I’ve gained weight, and I can’t focus. THIS is not how I imagined myself at this stage of life!

Now 2018 arrives and I have made a new plan… I am going to cry out for my inner Dory! I’m going to take a lesson from Lucy. I’m going to treat each day, each week, as a new chance, a great opportunity. I am good at writing goals and making a plan, but I’m easily distracted and overwhelmed by the demands of each day. So for my 2018 New Year’s resolution, I am treating each day, each week, as new. I will need to force myself to move past the mistakes, the wrong turns, the scary challenges, and the things I can’t change… and just keep swimming toward the goal of winning myself over to the life I see for myself. A life where I am thankful for my friends and family, value my own self worth, and reach for the goals that God has put in my heart. I want to wake up EVERY day this year thinking it’s January 1st… and today I have a chance to regroup, refocus, and move toward a new day! Because just like Lucy and Dory, I want to have a full and happy life… even if it means I have to hit Control-Alt-Delete every 10 seconds.