Key for Succeeding at your 2019 New Year's Resolution: A Prayer for Self-Motivation

Love 'em or hate 'em, the month of January brings a whole lot of talk about New Year's resolutions. This annual tradition of a personal commitment to change, to do differently, and hit refresh is rooted in a virtue that Ben Franklin valued: resolution. One of our founding fathers, Franklin wrote: 

Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

A blog "The Art of Manliness" applauds Franklin's determination. It says:

If you are to succeed in life, you must develop the virtue of resolution. Resolution is the firm determination to accomplish what you set out to do. Ben included resolution as his fourth virtue, because attaining it would ensure he would work through the other nine. 

I’ve seen countless people set out with the best intentions, only to fail because their resolution was weak. But I’ve also seen many others succeed despite the odds because their resolve to achieve consumed them. 

One of Franklin's 13 Virtues listed in his Pursuit for the Virtuous Life, McKay has additional tips on how you might develop resolution...which might move toward success achieving your 2019 resolution! I would, however, like to offer an additional recommendation.

St. Augustine wrote "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you." And so, this year, why not offer the prayer for self motivation?

This belief is affirmed by Eric Liddell, one of my personal and spiritual heroes, who shared a beautiful truth with a crowd after a race when he said, "Where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within." The movie "Chariots of Fire" reveals Liddell's conviction—that with God, all things are possible. His faith is the source of his power. 

Let us offer a prayer to cultivate the power from within—self motivation. Let this prayer be one that affirms resolution in your life and the life of others.

Omnipotent God, vitality of life, Your strength supplies my motivation. I am stirred in the path of Your Will. Maintain my self-motivation to always Search, find, examine, will and act Upon the truths placed before me. May I become a driving force for others, encouraging them to pick up their crosses And follow the virtuous road of life. I thank You for Your continued vigor That coexists in my whole being, My soul, my spirit and my body!Amen

Happy New Year! Here's to 2019!! (Go Irish, implied)

Photo Credits