Why do you want a difference in your life?

I wrote this several years ago. It's always a good piece to rewrite and reflect on this time of the year......

It's that magical time of the year. We can see the new year from here. Our chance for a new beginning. To become a new person. Trade unhealthy habits and hang-ups in for healthier ones. Ones that will help grow us and not continually defeat us.

It’s that time of the year when possibility feels more possible, and change doesn’t sound as unchangeable. As you consider your own possibilities and changes, let me offer something that running has taught me.

Before you focus on who or what you want to be different, first ask yourself why you want that difference at all.

I used to hate running. That's because running used to be a what. Something that had to be done and frankly something I had no interest in doing.

Then I started running and eventually discovered WHY I do it. There are days running is still a chore. WHAT I'm doing isn't enjoyable and it's seemingly without value - a race with no finish line. But when that happens, I don't focus on fixing the WHAT, instead I reflect intensely on WHY I'm doing it.

In running, I have quiet. I have a space to hear God. Running is where I feel Him reaching through the endless noise in my life and pulling close to him all that overwhelms me. In running, I have found not just health, but a desire to be healthy. In running, I have found the fuel to tackle every other area of my life - with purpose - even as obstacles rise up against me daily.

Next year, I want to feel closer to God, be my healthiest self, and experience a daily reminder that obstacles are the way to the finish line, not a means to keep us from it. Those are my WHYS.
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When my what gets tiring and boring and seemingly getting me nowhere - I will remember my WHYS. I may lose interest in what I'm doing, but why I'm doing it is too much a part of who I am - it's what keeps me going - to lose interest in that.

So, I’m not going to ask you what you want to be different in 2022. I’ll simply ask you why you want it to be different. Because if your why is big enough, some beautiful changes will come. Maybe some you can’t even imagine in this moment.

But on the other hand, if your why isn’t big enough – maybe you don’t even know your why – well the difference you want doesn’t matter so much. Because chances are, nothing will be different at all. Trust me, I’ve been there done that one.

It’s the last Monday of 2021. Next Monday, 2022 will be off and running.

Will the new year be different for you? If so, why…..?