We see it every year, right?
The gyms fill up in January, there are tons of organizing supplies available at Walmart, and everyone is talking about their New Year’s Resolutions. And then…..life happens. By February 1, it’s easy to find a treadmill again, and we are all collectively feeling the sting of failure at keeping those resolutions. We keep repeating this cycle, but it lets us down every time!
I propose a different path for your family! Instead of focusing on a resolution or a goal, give your family a mission for the new year. Giving yourself a mission gives you a focus for the year instead of something to try to achieve. You aren’t going to lose 40 lbs. by saying, “My goal is to lose 40 lbs.” You lose 40 lbs. by focusing on making one healthy choice at a time, one day at a time. You focus on the healthy lifestyle and the weight loss will happen.
The same goes for your family and your school. When you give yourself a mission to focus on, you weigh every choice against that mission. If your mission is to get out of debt, you can weigh each purchasing decision based whether or not it helps you get out of debt. If your mission is to complete a curriculum by the end of June, each day you will focus on getting that lesson completed.
How do you create a mission as a family? We have 6 steps you can take….and an extra bit of wisdom:
- Look at the last year, and figure out what worked well and what didn’t.
- Take stock of your family life and focus on the changes that need to occur.
- Think through your goals for the next year.
- Focus in on the most important changes or desires for your entire family.
- Write a mission statement that encompasses your vision for the new year. It needs to be concise, no more than 5 sentences, and something that makes sense to everyone.
- Post your mission statement in conspicuous places in your home. Check in on a regular basis and make sure you’re staying focused on the mission.
- You will fail at times. Life happens, especially in a homeschooling family. The reason you set a focus instead of a resolution is that you can get up the next morning, realign your focus, and keep moving in the right direction for your family. 250 days of focus and 115 days of getting off track will get you much closer to where you want to be than 20 days of trying to keep a resolution, then failing and giving up.
This system will work for your family, and can also be used on an individual basis for you or your children.
Make sure you don’t miss out on our FREE printables and updates! Join our newsletter family below and we’ll send them right to you!