A high-resolution New Year

A January 1, 2014 study at the University of Scranton found that Americans’ top ten New Years resolutions were:

1. Lose weight
2. Getting organized
3. Spend less, save more
4. Enjoy life to the fullest
5. Staying fit and healthy
6. Learn something exciting
7. Quit smoking
8. Help others in their dreams
9. Fall in love
10. Spend more time with family

8 percent of the previous year’s resolutions were successfully achieved.

Those annual promises we make to ourselves are tricky devils. Often anchored in wish and will, 75 percent of New Year's resolutions barely make it past the first week. After that, the study shows a gradual, if not nearly complete, slide into the gutter.

My experience is that resolutions that focus on changing behavior patterns tend to fizzle over time, while goals that focus on discovering who we are spiritually generally result in permanent progress. Why is that? I think the key is in the resolution of the resolution.

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Low resolution / high resolution aren’t just terms for the number of pixels in your tv (the dots that together form the picture on a screen). We might think of low-resolution goals as focusing on limitations and trying to change. Think self-improvement and you have got a good idea of low-resolution resolutions.

Low-resolution vows are deceptively self-centered. “I will change, fix, repair, correct, improve me.” Even when we think it is about someone else (for my kids, for my family)... Nope, it is pretty much still me, me, me.

Low-resolution goals, starting from “I’m not thin enough, smart enough, organized enough, disciplined enough, healthy enough, selfless enough, satisfied enough,” etc, are like a low-resolution screen - the picture we have of ourselves is blurry, unstable and tough to improve.  

High-resolution goals are spiritual. They start with God (Life, Truth, Love, Spirit) and work out from that basis to discover your inherent spirituality and what it does for you. They bring out the finer points of spiritual being in a way that empowers you to express good in big and small ways. Change how you see yourself, upgrade the resolution, and you will get better results.

While low-resolution goals tend to gradually snuff out, high-resolution goals are strong from the start and increase in power over time. This is because of a spiritual law governing the unfoldment of a divine idea. This law promises sturdy growth, and undecaying success from meek beginnings.

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When I say "meek", I am not talking about weakness and malleability. You don't have a weak little unmolded and undisciplined mind that needs to be pressed into better shape. Spiritual meekness is a strength we all have. Meekness gives shape to our lives and enables us to express our highest and best. It comes from our Maker and infuses us with resilient divine power through our unbreakable connection with Him.  God's man (and woman) is divine Mind-conceived, not self-conceived. When we understand and identify ourselves as God creates and knows us (and this is the true sense of "meek beginning"), sturdy growth and undecaying success follow.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy has an almost endless list of high-resolution resolutions. Here are just a few to consider:

• SH 249:5 (only)    “Let the “male and female” of God’s creating appear.” Get to know more about completeness, balance, proportion, grace as sourced in Spirit, and watch for its expression in you.
• SH 355:11-355:13 “Let discord of every name and nature be heard no more, and let the harmonious and true sense of Life and being take possession of human consciousness.” Watch the mental and verbal chatter that belittles and degrades your true and good nature. Practice speaking truthfully to and about yourself from God’s point of view. You are precious in His sight.
• SH 249:8-249:9 “Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine ‘powers that be.’” Joy is a powerful thing. Joy is a God-thing that adds sparkle to life. You are God’s joy. Enjoy. Rejoice.
• SH 267:27-267:28 “Even in this world, therefore, ‘let thy garments be always white.’” Purity and goodness isn’t hard. It is natural to be good, even in “this world”. Look up “good” in an unabridged dictionary and make a practice to identify with one of the many definitions each day. Watch what unnecessary clutter gets swished out of your life as a result.
• SH 407:24-407:26 “Let the perfect model be present in your thoughts instead of its demoralized opposite.” Take a look at what you are allowing to influence you. From the books you read, to the films you watch, to the conversations you have with others, allow yourself an upgrade. You deserve the very best. Divine Love gives you the very best. Let Love treat you well.

The most successful high-resolution resolutions come from a living, breathing, regular connection with God. Just like on the tv screen, a low-resolution (false) picture of you as an incomplete and limited mortal is generally disappointing. No amount of adjustment can permanently improve a picture that is limited by its initial resolution. But when your goal is to understand more of what God is and what He is doing in you as His spiritual and flawless creation, don’t be surprised when your strengths, abilities and the opportunities to express them come into crisp and sharp view.

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Have a listen to this podcast:

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