Maybe you already have a vision for how 2013 will unfold for you. Perhaps you are just hoping it will be better than last year. Whatever you’re thinking, a new attitude will benefit you. I would like to suggest praying for a winning attitude. Winners never give up. Winners are always striving to reach their goal. Winners never see quitting as an option.
Personally, I am asking God each day to help me have a winning attitude. That means I cannot let my thoughts sink to a place where I can only point out what is wrong. Instead of focusing on the negative, I must focus on things that are right. I may not accomplish everything I set out to do, but I will consider each day a success if just one significant thing is completed. There are days when I put together a to-do list that would be impossible to complete in an entire week. That can be exhausting and stressful. It does not make me feel like a winner. I also have to allow for unplanned distractions. My goal this year is to have a more balanced approach to the way I live.
The key to starting and maintaining a new attitude for a new year is to recognize that I have control over my thoughts and therefore I can choose to think positive. To think positive is to think that God’s thoughts are good for me. Philippians 4:8 has some good practical advice: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” I can use this as a checklist to monitor what I am thinking. Whenever I find my mind drifting in another direction, I can make the necessary adjustment.
I invite you to join me on this new adventure; let’s be winners in 2013. Prayer is not new but has the ability to help me see with new eyes. God does not want my life to be filled with anxiety, and if I pray for his intervention, I should also be willing to do my part.
God bless you as you look forward to a new year with a new attitude.
