Be It Resolved...

It's more than appropriate that we wrap up the "old" year and start the new during the Christmas season. After all, Jesus came to make all things new, so we might as well make our contribution, too. But New Year's Resolutions can be so...intimidating! I tend to want to fix everything in me and around me. At the same time. That leads to lists that go for pages.
Do you ever have the same problem?
Our Founder offered good advice for the resolutions a person would make at the beginning of the new "spiritual year" (during a course of spiritual exercises). Such resolutions, he said, should be "few, specific and practical." He outlined five areas that ought to be addressed in our consecrated life, and these can pretty much be adapted for any Catholic life.

Five recommended areas of focus would be:

• Family
• Spirituality
• Intellectual life
• Work/Finances
• Health

Just one resolution for each point. That also ensures that you won't be running away with resolutions you have very little chance of keeping.
To remember the resolutions, you could think of the five areas as the fingers of a hand, with the thumb (the "master finger") representing the area of your life that has the most impact on all the others, and thus requires the most focus. (So if your workload is affecting your family life, prayer and health, that is where you need to focus, even though objectively your family is more important.)
Are you making New Year's Resolutions this year? Are they "new" or "renewed" resolutions? How do you plan to keep them in mind, evaluate them, and make them really bear fruit?