Last year was both challenging and rewarding for me. I learnt more about myself as a Christian, wife, mother and leader in my place of employment and church. I learnt to accept myself and worked towards being a better person (as I discussed in my previous blog post).
I do not feel one must make changes in the month of January only and this blog is NOT about making New Year’s resolutions. Change can come about at any point in the year. The main point being is that you list the changes, how and when you are going to put them into place. Without a plan it is unlikely you will follow anything through. Having the desire for change is not enough.
This year I would like to (not listed in order of importance);
1. Minimise the amount of complaining and nagging I do. It is not healthy for me or those around me and quite frankly it is unfair on my children and husband who is one of the most “happy go lucky” people I know.
2. Study the bible with a passion in order to gain a deeper understanding.
3. Spend more time in personal prayer. Even if it means locking myself in the bathroom to get a little peace and turning my eyes away from tasks that need doing in the home.
4. Spend more time praying as a family. Be more consistent with bible reading time and family devotion time.
5. Be more content with my life even when I desire change in particular areas.
6. Spend more time with our children and make this quality time where I develop a deeper relationship with them. Lose the guilt I feel from being a full-time working mother.
7. Develop my leadership skills for work and church ministry purposes.
8. Take my blog and writing to another level.
Do not allow 2017 to be another year where you do not go for what you desire. You can make enquiries at college/ university if it is a course you want to do, request training at work to further your career, read books to gain more knowledge in a subject area, sign up for driving lessons and take them as and when you can afford to.
I do not particularly like change especially when it requires more of me emotionally and physically but I understand the principles surrounding change. I am willing to sacrifice and do the work now in order to gain later.
As Albert Einstein quoted;
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
What change would you like to see in 2017?
Do you require assistance/training /additional finances?
How will you go about accessing these?
organisedlady 
Love this post!
My husband and I wrote down some goals just this past week and a few of mine mirror yours: 2-8 but I may need to add #1 as well. lol. Be encouraged and thank you for encouraging me. My heart is always encouraged to see women desiring to be all God has created them to be.
Praying the Lord will give you the desires of your hear.
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Thank you for your comment and for following me.
Glad my post encouraged you. Please let me know how you get on with meeting your goals.
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“a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
To make change, we must first take that first important step, however, I think it is also important to make sure that first step is going in the right direction.
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You are right William. We need wisdom to endure we are in fact taking a step in the right direction.
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Phoenicia – I loved your list and I think your No. ! could apply to me too !! I too need to learn to stop complaining and nagging the people who love me the most!! If I can achieve that, it will make a big difference to our family.
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Thank you Mina! I am glad my post encouraged you
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As always lovely post dear, love it when my fellow bloggers are on the same thought process as me and to tell you what I loved the most is the punchline you end the post with the quote from Albert Einstein.
Thank you dear for sharing 🙂
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Why thank you Sushmita!
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Just out of love 🙂
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😀😀
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Inspiring list Phoenicia! I’ll be honest, I’m one of those people who doesn’t believe in sharing goals, but I respect and understand that many others feel sharing is healthy and adds an element of accountability. So, that said, I could not agree more with your point about making the entire year about growth, not just January. I have my goals broken down by month and in front of me as I’m working so as to remain focused, and a big part of achieving them is going to be managing my time. Personally, I’m optimistic about the year ahead of us. 🙂
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Thanks for being honest Marquita. I shared my short term goals in the hope that it would encourage someone.
It will be a great year!
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My main goal for this year is to be more involved in general. Too often we hesitate to do the things we want to do. I don’t want to live back on life and have too many regrets for all the things I haven’t done.
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I agree with you Jeri. Why wait until tomorrow when we can start today?
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Phoenicia — you make the important point that change requires a lot of you both emotionally and physically. In order to change you have to sacrifice the comfort of the way you’ve always done things. That is not easy, as I can attest. But there is also joy in making change for the better, so you’ve got to try.
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There are great benefits that come with change especially when we have made the decision to rather than”it” happening to us.
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Oh! I love this post. Exactly how I am feeling. I need to pursue a lot of the change I want to see. And I plan to embrace the change and not over think things, which I tend to do a lot. Feel encouraged by this post. Some of the things on your list I will add to mine too 🙂
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Thank you!
I am pleased that my post has encouraged you.
May there be many more!
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You have an admirable list there, Phoenicia. You already sound centered and working on these things will help even more. I, too, feel like there’s something in the air for me this year–an unveiling of new and fresh things…more wonderment. And it starts with a great appreciation of what’s right in front of my face.
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Thank you Rose Mary.
I sure am. I hope you set out to do all you have planned.
It sounds as though exciting things are happening for you this year!
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Am always ready for change. Not that I always like to change but if you stick to what you are doing and how you are doing it you miss out on an abundance of opportunities. The only thing that’s certain in life is uncertainty. None of us can change that. It’s just how life works for some reason. Besides wouldn’t it be boring if everything was predictable.
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Catarina – I too struggle with change but it is a must for progression so I suck it up.
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I like the goal you have of being content in life even though you desire change. That is one of the most difficult ones for many, especially if you are someone who is a “motivated person”. It is a great skill to learn how to be ambitious without living your life striving for a moment other than the one you’re in. That can be a challenge for me as well.
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Thanks Erica – living in the “here and now” is so important. There was a time I only looked at what was to come and disregarded the “now” as it was not as I wanted it to be.
I am learning to enjoy the moment. It is an old cliché but you do not get that time back.
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I wish you all the very best for 2017.
All the resolutions you made here, will definitely take you to a different level of consciousness if you can implement these this year..
Good thoughts! Carry on!
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Thanks Tuhin – I can only but try. I am determined to meet these goals as they are not impossible.
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I’ve been coming across a lot of messages about change in the last couple of weeks. Perhaps it is because it’s a new year or maybe it’s a message I need to hear. I think planning and breaking down changes one wants to make into small, actionable steps is important. I like the idea of spreading the changes over the year too – it can be hard to tackle too many things at once. Wishing you all the best in your plans for 2017.
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Donna – perhaps the messages are for you, to encourage you to tackle the areas in your life that can be improved. As my goals are spread over the year, I am able to monitor my development on a monthly basis and step it up a knotch when I am falling behind.
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Wow, Phoenicia! You’ve listed a lot of significant changes. I would not be able to tackle all those items at once. I admire you for creating an ambitious list of areas that you want to improve. My hope for 2017 is that I am able to make at least 3 new friends in my new city, volunteer in at least 3 organizations that do work that I find important, and travel several times within my country. Let’s remember to check back next year and see how we did with our plans!
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I am not planning to tackle these all at once but throughout the year. I would like to see progress in all of these areas, even if slightly so.
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