New year, new me. Scratch that. Here’s a two-word resolution that will change the game this year.

After researching, I have made a short list of some of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Let’s play a little game. Count on your fingers how many of these goals you’ve set before in the new year:

Exercise more / lose weight / gain weight.
Keep to a diet of some sort.
Become more organized.
Learn a new skill or hobby.
Live life to the fullest.
Save more money / spend less money.
Quit smoking (or some other vice).
Spend more time with family and friends.
Travel more.
Read more.

My fingers are at about 8 at this point in my life, what about you?

Fisher College of Business claims that only 9% of Americans who make resolutions complete them. With that, 23% of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January.

As harsh as that sounds, it’s encouraging to hear that I’m not the only one who quit my New Year’s diet after a week. Here’s a thought, maybe the issue has nothing to do with your endurance or how long you keep up with the resolution. Maybe the problem is within the resolution itself.

I’m not gonna tell you to make a 20-step plan for your weight loss program or give you a 101 guide to being organized in everything. But I am going to share my New Year’s resolution from now on:

To grow.

Check out this inspiring post from Morgan Harper Nichols.

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A post shared by Morgan Harper Nichols (@morganharpernichols)

Morgan gives this beautiful illustration about branches in the winter. How they look like empty placeholders to us, but to the birds, they provide a safe place to perch. A little shift in perspective can change everything.

God didn’t create us to be perfect. God created the world in seven days when he could have done it in the blink of an eye. Sheesh, that’s something to meditate on.

Whatever your goal is, don’t lose hope. Just take steps to progress and grow. Grow into your health goals, grow into your financial dreams, and grow in your relationship with the Lord.

And when you feel like you’re not growing, and those winter branches feel like they’re useless, look for the birds and know that spring will come again.

David was a shepherd before he became a king. Noah lived on an ark that took him 120 years to build before he survived a flood. Jesus lived for 33(ish) years, performed many miracles, and faced trials before He was resurrected and rose again.

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” | Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

So whatever you do in the new year- don’t give up, take a deep breath and just grow. Trust in Him and His timing, because God’s got this.

And if you’re like me and want to grow in reading the Word this year, check out this 21-day devotional journeying through the book of John. Happy New Year!

21 Days of Growing Devotional