How to make good New Year’s resolutions

Whereas many people make New Years resolutions, many are soon broken. Father Rocky, Executive Director of Relevant Radio, joined Drew Mariani on The Drew Mariani ShowTM to discuss his tips for making good resolutions.

The best three areas to focus on with our New Years resolutions, says Father Rocky, are the soul, body, and relationships. Most importantly, the soul. “Prayer first. God first. Figure out what that means in your daily life,” says Fr. Rocky. “For the body, it’s important to take care of our health, with diet and exercise and such.”

It’s tempting to load ourselves down with too many resolutions. “I think making ten resolutions is too much, I think that will discourage people. I would encourage people to choose one or two, or three at the most. And [choose] something very practical!”

Showing mercy and forgiveness is a wonderful resolution that many people overlook. You might make the resolution “to contemplate how [you] can forgive those who’ve hurt [you]; it’s what Christ calls us to do. But that’s a tough one. It’s a great spiritual [resolution] that I think we’ll find incredibly edifying,” says Mariani.

“To err is human, to forgive is divine. And honestly, to find it within your power to forgive someone who has hurt you, even if they haven’t asked for forgiveness, that is something truly divine and that’s what Jesus does at the foot of the cross as He’s being nailed to the cross. He says, ‘Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing,’” says Fr. Rocky.

Lindsey is a wife, mother, and contributing author at Relevant Radio. She holds a degree in Journalism and Advertising from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lindsey enjoys writing, baking, and liturgical living with her young family.