A good friend of mine published a blog post earlier this year that states that only 8% of people keep their New Years resolutions.  You can read that post in its entirety HERE.  With a 92% failure rate, one wonders why so many people create New Year resolution lists at all? Part of the reason why so many people fail at achieving their New Year’s resolutions is because they set unrealistic and impractical goals which ultimately set themselves up for failure.  I am certainly guilty of doing this, as historically I have set many unrealistic resolutions of my own, which, after a month or two, fell apart.

However, I have also been a member of the distinguished 8% and have had the delight of accomplishing some of my goals and dreams.  I have also been astonished as I have witnessed people in my immediate context do some amazing things.  All in all, 2013 was a great year, and the world as we know it isn’t the same.  Whether you realize it or not, you changed the world in 2013.  Your life had a significant impact on those around you and those who are around you likewise impacted you.

You may not have grown much in 2013.  Heck, you may have even gone backwards and fallen prey to some old bad habits.  You may have some serious regrets about things you did during the previous year, or you may feel like you simply skated through the year with nothing special to report.  Maybe you had a life changing situation come up such as the death of a loved one, the loss of your house, loss of a job, or other hard time that made 2013 an insufferable experience? If 2013 was a tough year for you, I am very sorry, I pray that this new year will be filled with healing and growth.

Whatever happened last year changed you and changed the world.  There is no doubt about that.  However, what happened in your distant past does not have to define you as a person.  Whether you had an amazing year or an awful one, you should approach the new year intentionally and with big dreams to change the world for the better.  You will change the world in this new year, I hope you realize that.  The question is, do you want to change the world for the better?

You can continue on business as usual wasting your life away, watching TV all day, playing video games, focusing on yourself entirely with disregard for others, not finding contentment in anything, constantly finding fault in others, never being happy with your financial situation, living an unhealthy lifestyle of substance abuse, poor eating, alcoholism, gambling addiction, (fill in the blank).  It is your choice to live your life how you please.  Just don’t fool yourself into thinking that your life doesn’t have an effect on the world.  Your life matters, and the world will never be the same because of you.

With that in mind, I want to provide you with four practical ideas of how you can change the world for the better.  The only prerequisite for you being able to do these things is a heartbeat.  Anyone can do these four simple things, and if done well, they will change your life, and the world (for the better).

1) Help someone else accomplish one of their goals or dreams.  If you really want to change the world for the better, devote time in 2014 to help someone else achieve one of their goals or dreams.  This person could be your spouse, brother, sister, mom, dad, cousin, uncle, friend, acquaintance, etc.  There are people in your context who God has destined for great things.  Many times these people need coaching, financial support, encouragement, child-care, prayer, and attention in order to accomplish something big.  Sometimes good ideas are planted into these people’s minds (by people like you).

You don’t have to be the guy in the spotlight, you can instead be the guy in the background planting ideas in the mind of the guy in the spotlight.  Helping someone else accomplish their goal or dream will likely require sacrifice on your part, but the payoff will be tremendous when you get to watch that person succeed!  I encourage you to think hard throughout the year of how you can help someone accomplish one of their dreams in 2014.  Don’t get so caught up in your own goals and dreams that you miss the beautiful person God has put in your context to assist.

2) Read more and watch less.  We are constantly bombarded with TV, social media, smartphones, tablets, electronic devices, and the internet.  I encourage people all the time to take a break from social media, TV, and the internet.  I wrote a piece on the dangers of social media idolatry HERE . All of these things have undoubtedly changed the world (for the better and for the worse) and all of these have had a direct effect on your life.  It is true that you can use many of these tools to change the world for the better.  That seems to be the argument that is most commonly furnished by some of my more (dedicated) social media friends.  They think that their use is within reasonable limits and that any social media/blogging/internet/Smartphone break is entirely unnecessary and counter-productive.

I disagree.  I am convinced that in order to change the world for the better, you need to turn off the TV, sign off of Facebook, put down your smartphone and grab a book (OK, go ahead and grab your Kindle) and let your imagination take off.  Reading has so many benefits!  It’s relaxing, it’s satisfying, it expands the imagination, it generates imaginative thinking and produces people who can better maneuver through the difficult landscape of life.  If you want to change the world, make it a personal goal to escape from the hustle and bustle of the technological beast, and commit to quiet time reading in 2014.

3) Listen more and talk less.  If you learn how to embrace #2 on this list, #3 will come easier to you.  It’s easier to be a person who listens when you aren’t a piece of the social media machine, where the premise depends on its users being focused on self promotion and marketing oneself for the world to see.  Your words change the world.  People have likely friended you and unfriended you on social media throughout 2013.  Your words are offensive to some, and exalted by others.  If you can learn to apply the fine art of listening, your ability to change the world will increase drastically! Proverbs 21:23 says “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble”.

Your words play a significant role in determining how well or how poorly your relationships will be.  It can be difficult to remain silent especially when you convince yourself that your words will better your situation.  You can see this in action in the hit TV show COPS when the defendant attempts to talk himself out of the situation.  Usually the more words that are used, result in more criminal charges added on.  Unfortunately this is often the case in life as well.  If you make it a goal to listen more and talk less, your life will change for the better, and you might even learn some interesting things about people in your life that you never knew before.

4) Get out of your comfort zone and do something different.  It is too easy to continue business as usual.  Many people try so hard to effectively manage every moment of their day.  Day after day they adhere to a strict schedule with little room for the smallest deviation.  Critically important things may come up that require attention, and are neglected because “that time slot is already booked”.  People in your life need you.  You have the power to help them if and only if you are willing to make sacrifices and leave your comfort zone.  On the opposite end of the spectrum are the people who are lazy.  They play video games all day, watch TV nonstop, surf youtube for hours a day, and are basically zombies.  These people are very comfortable moping around the house in their pajamas all day, and living in their parents basement until they are 40.  In the middle of these two extremes exist the average Jane. Life is a routine, and year after year go by of the same old stuff.

There really isn’t’ anything exciting going on in her life, and she likely feels very complacent.  Jane is very comfortable with who she is and has a big fear of change.  I don’t know if you can relate with any of the examples above, but even if you can’t, you too likely enjoy being “comfortable” in life and flying under the radar.  Even if you’re flying under the radar, you are still changing the world.  However, if you want to do something big (or help someone else do something big) you have to get out of your comfort zone and do something new, different, difficult, and possibly risky.  That may be getting involved at your local church, volunteering at your local food bank, taking a job out of state, accepting the reality that you are called to Christian ministry work, helping a loved one accomplish their dream, etc.  Whatever the case, if you want to change the world for the better, you will have to get out of your comfort zone and make some changes.  You don’t have to be a genius to pull this off either.  People are often frightened at the prospect of sharing the gospel with someone.  They think “I’m not good with words” “So and so can do it better than I can”.  Do those phrases sound familiar?  A popular bible character shared a similar sentiment, and yet God used him to change the world!

You will change the world this upcoming year. The question is, will you change it for the better?