Self-Acceptance and Persistence

By now many of us have probably slipped up on keeping our New Year’s resolutions. This is discouraging and our self-esteem deflates. It’s difficult to be persistent.  We might want to throw up our hands and quit.  But it’s much better to start anew.  For me, working crossword puzzles is a good analogy.  Sometimes when a puzzle is a real challenge, I’m tempted to stop and peek at the answers to complete it. But I’ve found that if I let the puzzle rest for a day and then return to it, some clues I thought were impossible I now can answer. Maybe today, it’s hard for me to pass up the dessert I resolved to forswear, but maybe tomorrow I can overcome my craving and be victorious. That would make me feel good about myself.  This reflection in my book “Heart to Mary with Mary” is a fitting follow-up to these thoughts:  Click to continue