Live by the Spirit.
—Galatians 5:16
You make resolutions: you resolve to stop doing something you’re doing or to start doing something you’re not doing. You want to be better and do better.
How do you pull that off? Paul answered with fifteen words: “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Gal 5:16).
A paragraph later, he jotted down a cluster of nine qualities that he called the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (vv. 22, 23).
Writing those on nine Sticky Notes and slapping them on your bathroom mirror will get you off to a good start. Ponder them. Pray about them. Practice them.
P.S. When you stumble, don’t beat up on yourself. Try again.
Think progress, not perfection.