Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: RESOLUTION (01/07/16)
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TITLE: One Step Will Start the Turn | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lea Austin
01/13/16 -
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Have you ever played the word puzzle game where you're given a short word like "cold" and you have to change it into another word like "warm" in just a few steps by changing one letter each step? If you're a wordy person, you know the game. (One solution for changing cold to warm is cold- cord- card- hard- harm- warm. Elementary, I know.) In a few steps you can also change "take" into "give," "hate" into "love," and "lamb" into "Lord."
Let's take a longer word, a new-year word. How about "resolution?" How many steps does it take to change "resolution" into "revolution?" One. Only one. With one letter, we can instantly change a goal into a desired outcome. That's a word game for you. In reality, a word is only the symbol and not the substance of what it represents, and playing with the symbol of a word is much easier than walking out the substance of it.
Most of us agree that the walk from resolution to revolution requires many steps, but there is good news. Although one step will not complete the revolution, one step will start the turn. That being said, it's easy to be deceived by thinking we are making changes simply because we have resolved to make changes. We feel great that we've made a list of things we are going to accomplish during the year. Sometimes we even choose to forget that some of the items may be repeats from last year. We would be wise to remind ourselves that making the resolution requires attitude while doing the resolution requires action. If a resolution is not followed by action, it is useless, a waste of time.
When we make a resolution, we see ourselves the way we want to be. A vision of our success stands in front of us. The problem is that what we see is so much different than what we are now, and in the challenge of change, we tend to get overwhelmed and give up. If this happens, at the end of the year we feel like a failure. Sometimes the defeat comes much earlier, at the end of the first month, or even in the first week. When we resolve to improve but don't produce the outcome we desire, we are disappointed in ourselves. In a way, we set ourselves up for failure by making resolutions that are focused on a finished product.
I'm wondering if there is a better way to approach making resolutions. What if, instead of making resolve-based resolutions that focus on a desired outcome, we set goals that focus on an ongoing solution to the change we want to see. That way we could keep our focus on the solution rather than on the final product. Whereas resolve-based resolution is product oriented, solution-based resolution is process oriented. For example, a resolved-based resolution might be to lose 30 pounds, while its solution-based counterpart might be to walk 20 minutes a day and eat oatmeal for breakfast instead of doughnuts. Though the outcomes at the end of the year may be similar, the solution-based process is far less burdening because gives grace to start fresh every day. If the resolution maker misses a day of walking and eats four doughnuts, he/she can re-solve the issue tomorrow.
Those of us who make resolutions have at least one thing in common. We want to improve. We make a resolution because we want a revolution. In the time it takes the earth to make one revolution around the sun, we want to turn a bad habit into a good one and become a better person. We can find encouragement in remembering that every step of improvement is moving us in the right direction. If we continue, little by little, starting afresh each morning, we will be changed into a better person, not only at the end of the year, but at the end of the day.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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Keep writing!
Great message in this entire piece. Wonderful job.
God bless~
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the we voice. It feels a bit like a lecture to me. If you had written it in the first singular voice, I feel you might have pulled me in more. I'd still learn from your lesson, but it wouldn't feel too preachy to me. For example, you could do something like this: I chewed on the tip of my pencil as I read the puzzle. "Change cold into warm." Easy one. I jotted down the words...
I feel great when I've made a list of things I plan to accomplish during the year.
I also added some thoughts and body language to create a picture for the reader. It's not perfect nor necessarily what everyone might like, but just one suggestion.
I think you did a great job of covering the topic. The game was a nice way to pull the reader in. Keep reading other challenge entries and writing. I look forward to reading more of your work. I think you have a knacks for writing devotions. If you have submitted any to FW devotions, you should consider it. Nice job.
I noticed that you read and critiqued others entries. I think you will find this helpful. Keep writing because you have a lot of potential.