If you are still on the fence on whether making New Year’s resolutions are worth it, you are not alone. I find that many people conveniently avoid this topic altogether. Some have tried and failed and others never give it much of a chance. For me, I know that if I have nothing I am aiming for, I really have no idea if I ever got there. This I am sure of, we were never meant to live average lives. We were created to have an abundant life, living passionately and using the gifts and talents entrusted to us by God to make a difference in this world. For this final blog in January, here are four areas that if pursued passionately, will pay huge dividends in your life.
- Family First. There is no other human relationship more important or more critical to lifelong happiness. You can have a great career and plenty of money in the bank, but if your family is in shambles, then everything else that seemed so important, eventually comes crumbling down. You cannot just wish you had a better family; you have to be intentional about it and give it the time it deserves.
- Health is Wealth. Your wealth is meaningless if you have poor health. If you have a big vision for your life and want to accomplish everything God has placed on your heart, then how will you accomplish it if you are in poor health? We have an epidemic in this country, and that is, poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. Is it any wonder why we are the most medicated and depressed country in the world? Make getting in better health a key priority. Do not just buy a membership and think this is your answer. It really comes down to a commitment to change the way you live.
- Financial Strength. Of all the areas that cause more stress on a family, this is a big one. I just found out an old friend died of cancer. Not only his death tragic, but also he left his wife and family with a financial train wreck. He had no life insurance and tons of debt. He had discussed getting his finances in order for years but never got around to doing it. Do you realize that the majority of working adults have no living will in place? Most people are one paycheck away from bankruptcy. This has to change. You and your family deserve to have your finances in order or at least be working towards that end. Be willing to seek out help if you need it.
- Love what You Do. Nearly 78% of Americans hate what they do for a living. Why is that? Many people choose a profession due to their parents influence or because they started working somewhere and never left because they had a family and it now seems impossible to leave. I get that and you are not alone if this describes you. My encouragement to you is that when you are older and look back on your life, will you have any regrets that they never pursued your dream. Wouldn’t it be great to wake up each day and love what you do so much that you don’t see each day as just another day of work?
- Put God first place in your Life. I realize this can be a touchy subject as many of my readers are not at the same point in their spiritual journey. What I can tell you is that when I decided to put God first place in my life, my life changed for the better. My marriage was saved, I had hope for the future and I realized I had a purpose larger than myself. For me, I find time each day to read the Bible and pray. This has become the best time of my day and honestly, I need it. I hope you will consider making this a priority in your life as well. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have on this topic. I came to this conclusion a few years ago; I would rather die having given my life believing there is a God then not having done so and die, and then realize there really was.
I hope this year will be your best year yet. I live by the motto, live a life worth living. It has helped me a lot, as I fix my mind each day on living out what this means to me. I will be introducing a new podcast in March with the same title. It will be geared to help people discover how to have hope, purpose and meaning in everyday living. I hope you will check it out.
Please let me know how your journey is going in 2016 and how I can encourage you to reach greater heights.
God Bless,
Doug Hedrick