At this time of year, many of us make a new year’s resolution. It is often about losing weight, being a better person, getting out of debt, buying a house or car, etc. Too often those resolutions only last a few days and the person goes back to behaving like they always have. Is there a better way to make important changes in our life? I suggest there is.
Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English Language says a resolution means “a fixed purpose or determination of mind, as a resolution to reform our lives.” This sounds like a good definition, however, the problem is not with the definition but the lack of commitment to do what is resolved to be done! Many of us change our mind as often as we change our clothes!
Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says to commit means, “with the reciprocal pronoun, to commit one’s self, is to do some act, or make some declaration, which may bind the person in honor, good faith, or consistency, to pursue a certain course of conduct, or to adhere to the tenor of that declaration.”
Years ago, there was a saying, “my word is my bond,” that was taken seriously in business transactions and life in general. However, it appears to me that many in our day have long ago forsaken such actions. To them, their word means very little so when it comes to making a resolution or telling a friend that they will do a certain thing, they feel very little need to actually carry through on what they said.
When Webster says that in making a commitment one is binding himself in honor and good faith to pursue a course of action to adhere to what he said, it is more than words but a strong determination to carry out what he said. And here is where the ‘rubber meets the road.’ When resolutions fail, it is most often that we merely said words, and have not made a commitment to actually carry it out.
So, how can we make a resolution that is actually kept? Give some quality thought to it before you make it. Are you willing to carry through on it regardless of the cost? When you make the resolution known to others, are you putting your honor on the line and become willing for them to hold you accountable for it? If so, you will probably keep it. If not, it may be broken in a matter of a few days.