Changes

Back in November my church had an event where the theme was changes. We had to make a list of things we wanted to change. (Example: Flossing my teeth more often than after eating corn on the cob or the day before a dentist appointment.) I looked at this like resolutions, but even with the reminder at New Year's, I'm still not doing well. Mostly because I forget or because I'm lazy. So I was considering ways to help me remember or motivate me. (The threat of gum disease or my dentist being disappointed aren't very good motivators for me on a daily basis.)

When my sister and I were growing up, during the summer our mom made us "stuff to do" charts. Not because we would get bored, but so we'd do something other than read books. The chart had several things on it like Read the Bible or Exercise for X Minutes. The goal was to do three of the things in one day, and for every five days we did, we'd get a small prize, like a stuffed animal or gel pens. We didn't have to do any of it, but we did any way because we were motivated by the prize.

Therefore, I've decided to make myself one of these charts with my six resolutions on it. I'm going to try to do three of them each day and once I've been successful for five days, I'll buy myself something I want, like music. If this works, then I may make it harder, such as increasing the amount of time I have to exercise or upping the goal to four items per day.