Fall in Love

Forget the resolutions. Forget control and discipline... too much work. Instead try experimenting. Go in search of something to fall in love with... something about yourself, your career, your spouse.
Dale Dauten

Every year, we make a New Year's Resolution that we will do something to improve ourselves. And every year, a month later we have totally forgotten about it. Why? Because we have slipped back into our regular routine of doing things, the habits we are familiar with. Saying that we want to quit smoking just is not effective when we are around our familiar circle of friends who are all happily smoking and offering us a cigarette. Our habits win out over our will every time.

Forget the resolutions. Forget control and discipline. They all stem from using willpower. Willpower is something borne of the Ego. It comes from the need to control the world around us and make it do what we think will make us superior and/or happy. Willpower is a lot of work, we are trying to force ourselves to do something that goes against what we are comfortable with. We can't will ourselves to be happy. But there is another way.

Try experimenting. Go in search of something to fall in love with... something about yourself, your career, your spouse. If we actually take the time to experiment with what we value most, and search them out, there are things to fall in love with all around us. There are blessings everywhere. We can fall in love with cool breezes on a hot summer day, it doesn't have to be something momentous. But it is when we are in love, when we can really appreciate all the wonderful things God has given us, that we really grow and develop. And most of all, that is the only way we can truly be happy.