As any parliamentarian can tell you, resolutions have no binding authority on the body. That is, a group can vote on any number of resolutions — you know, “Be it now resolved,” — but that doesn’t mean anything is going to happen. Resolutions have no authority. They’re a symbolic statement of a body’s mood at a particular time and place, but no real action is going to take place. None is expected.
Nothing is going to change. Resolutions have no binding authority.
But we knew that already, didn’t we? After all, we’ll make New Year’s resolutions and we’ll promise to lose weight, be more kind, read more, stay off social media, and we’re going to do this to make 2023 a better year than 2022.
And nothing will change.
Why? Because resolutions have no binding authority.
I was playing golf when I learned this lesson. On this particular day, I was playing with a young man named Alex. Alex was a good golfer. To be honest, Alex was a fanatical golfer. He was the kind of guy who would sit around and talk about the physics of golf.
Yeah, and he was pretty good.
So, one time, I teed off. I hit the ball a long way but I had no idea where it would go. I watched it bend right into a deep thicket of shrubs and undergrowth. A SEAL team couldn’t have found my ball.
And Alex laughed.
Now, let me explain to you the etiquette of golf. The rule is never to laugh at another player’s shot. You say something like, “Tough luck,” or “We can probably find that.” But you don’t laugh.
Alex laughed.
“What are you laughing at? “ I asked him.
“I’m laughing at you,” he said. “You don’t do anything in your swing to make the ball go where you want it to go. You just stand there and wish.”
And that’s when it hit me. There’s a big difference between wishing and wanting. Wishing means you would like something to happen, but you aren’t going to take the necessary steps to make it happen. Wanting means you desire something and you’re willing to pay the price to make it happen.
Most of us just wish.
Someone might say, “I want to go to med school.”
“What’s your GPA?” you ask.
“2.5.”
“You’re wishing,” you reply.
Desire without action equals nothing. Making New Year’s resolutions don’t help because they require no action. Without action, nothing changes.
A better question would be, what do you want in 2023? Then, what are you willing to do to make it happen? If there’s no action in the next step, you’re just wishing.
Let me give you some examples.
“I want a stronger marriage in 2023.” Action step: Take my wife out on a date at least twice a month.
“I want to know more about Jesus in 2023”. Action step: Read all four gospels by Easter.
OK, now it’s your turn. What do you want in 2023? What are you willing to do to make it happen? If there’s no action step, you’re just wishing.
And there’s a difference between wishing and wanting.
