 This
Year Make Priorities, Not Resolutions
Restoring Order in Your Life
by Vicki Norris
At the advent of each New Year we are caught up in the
desire to start fresh and improve our lives. Something
within us desires to remedy our mistakes, correct bad
habits, and get things "right" in our lives. Somehow, this
intrinsic longing leads us to make "resolutions" to do
better. Sadly, our resolve to change, correct, re-direct,
and advance our life is often short-lived. The problem is:
resolutions rarely last more than a few days or weeks, and
we become disheartened by our failures once again.
At my professional organizing company, we get all kinds of
phone calls and emails from the desperately disorganized
across America. Every caller has something in common:
they’ve reached a “point of pain” with their
disorganization. They’ve realized that it is costing them
energy, focus, and their own potential to live in a messy,
haphazard way. They’ve resolved to finally step up and
“pay the piper” and deal with their disorganization,
rather than staying in the self-defeating cycle of chaos.
People who want to change their lives in a positive way
and make it last need a catalyst to do so.
Often, it is our pain that is a catalyst for change.
People call us to help them reclaim their environments
when they can't stand it anymore. They've reached a point
of pain where they need to "dig out," and finally take
control. Whether they’re facing a mound of paperwork, a
junky home office, or a jumbled kitchen, each one reports
the annoying, frustrating, and sometimes paralyzing
effects of their disorganization. Some are receiving late
fees in return for their financial disorganization. Others
are experiencing friction in their relationships. This
pain is causing them to take action to address their
disorder. For humans, pain (whether physical or mental) is
a very fundamental motivator.
For the believer, being disorganized may cost us more than
late fees or arguments. We are called to be good stewards
of our time, resources, and gifts. When we are living in a
disorderly, chaotic manner, however, we are usually not
able to be proactive about managing that which is
entrusted to us. Disorganization causes us to live in a
reactive way and neglect good stewardship. Our clients
often report feeling like they are drowning, trapped, or
simply just overwhelmed. When we feel like we are barely
surviving, we aren’t making ourselves and our resources
available to be used for kingdom purposes.
I’ve been in the trenches of disorder in homes across
America, and I’ve had the opportunity to interact with
people of all walks of life. We get to observe the things
that motivate people, and really drive personal change. In
addition to pain, we've learned that people will change
when they are inspired by the possibilities in their life.
And what inspires us like nothing else? Our own
priorities!
A priority is not the same thing as a resolution.
A resolution is a specific goal, like losing 10 pounds.
It's usually about deprivation of some kind…not eating
sugar, returning to a size 8, or quitting smoking. A
resolution is something you can check off your list once
accomplished, and all of us love to check things off our
list! However, if no lifestyle change has occurred, it's
so easy for our vices to return, and our resolutions to
evaporate. Checking a resolution off our list will only
bring temporary accomplishment (and perhaps later will
become a disappointment).
A priority, on the other hand, is a value, like living a
healthier lifestyle or spending quality time with family.
It's not something you change annually on New Year's Eve,
and start implementing New Year's Day. A priority is
something that should guide the way you live every day.
Our priorities are the things that truly matter in our
lives, and sadly, so many of us don't even know what our
priorities are! Discovering and living your priorities
will bring satisfaction and freedom.
If one of your priorities is your marriage, you should be
scheduling special time on your calendar to invest in this
priority. If one of your priorities is being an engaged
parent, this, too, should show up on your schedule. If you
intend to reach out to your neighbors, dedicate some dates
for this purpose. Even organizing, which keeps your life
sane and your household thriving, should show up on your
calendar if you want to maintain homefront peace. You can
tell how important your priorities are by how often you
invest in them. If something doesn't show up on your
calendar, you can question if it is really a priority for
you.
Maybe now you can think of some personal or professional
priorities that you can schedule on your calendar.
Consider the time you take doing this (and enjoying those
priorities) as an investment in good stewardship. As those
striving to please God, we are to “Be very careful, then,
how [we] live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most
of every opportunity, because the days are evil”
(Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV). This year, let yourself off the
hook from resolutions that never last, and set out to
discover, honor, and schedule your priorities!
Vicki Norris, author of “Restoring Order™: Organizing
Strategies to Reclaim Your Life™” and “Restoring Order™ to
Your Home” is an expert organizer, business owner,
speaker, and television personality who inspires people to
live out their priorities. Norris is a regular on HGTV’s
nationally syndicated Mission: Organization, and is a
recurrent source and contributor to national lifestyle
publications including Quick & Simple magazine, Better
Homes & Gardens, and Real Simple magazine. To learn more
visit
www.RestoringOrder.com.
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