New wine, old skins

One problem with every New Year is the mindset that it's a clean slate and to make changes in your life, you simply have to move forward. That's really a lie. The only time you have a clean slate is the day you are born. After that, you have history. So in order to make positive changes in your life, you have to first undo all of the negative, which is actually harder.

Maintenance is infinitely easier, less costly and better than repair but how often do we let things go until they finally give way, forcing us to pay attention to the situation. It's an easy illustration with cars and homes, but the same logic applies to our health, our finances and our relationships.

Sometimes life feels like you are pushing a dead car up a hill in the snow. When faced with the newness of the year (be it calendar, fiscal or school), one is eager for a change and is filled with a severe case of the "shoulds;"
- I should eat better
- I should exercise more
- I should spend more time in the Word
- I should get a handle on my addictions
- I should control my finances
- I should take better care of my possessions
- I should pay more attention to my relationships
What it really boils down to is that we end up "should-ing" all over ourselves and being covered in "should" feels dirty and defeating.

My resolution is to just take it one day at a time. One task at a time. One thought at a time. It's the year to slow down and get more done.