Take a second, get in a seat, and get comfortable. I’m going to make a comparison for you. You might see where this comparison is going, or it might be one of those comparisons that when we get to the point you realize it snuck up on you without you even realizing it! Either way this should be a fun post!

There are two mentalities towards goal setting out there. The first is much like a New Year Resolution. It’s a New Year, and excitement is in the air! Anticipation is high, about another year rolling around! Then since everyone else is making a New Year Resolution, so do you! You go to bed that night convinced that you are going to conquer the world with your New Year Resolution!

This lasts for about a week. Then maybe whatever your resolution was, you see it more as a chore than something to be excited about. Then after a few more weeks it’s a burden, till finally you just give up on that resolution. Well, that is until the next big event; maybe it’s a milestone birthday, or an anniversary, or maybe it is the next New Year. Regardless, this is the cycle that occurs over and over again. Setting a goal, starting out high and excited, then falling apart till next time.

The second mentality is more like an Olympic figure skater. The figure skater has a goal in mind. He is determined to get there, and knows what obstacles are in his way. There is not huge passionate excitement about the goal, just fierce determination. Every day the figure skater gets up, practices his moves, jumps, and spins. More than once he is sure to fall, miss a step, or wipe out. But that does not deter him, almost as soon as he hits the ice, he bounces back up and is trying the same move again. He learns from his past mistakes to help him become his future success. Focus, passion, and determination is the name of the game for the figure skater. Excitement can be shown when the prize is won.

The easy way to end this post would be to encourage you to set goals like the figure skater and not like the New Year Resolution. This is very true, but when I look at these two mentalities, I see something else as well. I see two approaches Catholics have towards Confession.

See, some Catholics are like the New Year Resolution. They go to confession when the hype is high, or when they know they did something really wrong. When everyone is talking about it, or just because they feel like they should. Any reason to go to confession is a great reason. The challenge to going for these reasons are that just like the New Year Resolution, the passion to do better in life, to grow in holiness, and to avoid sin will begin to feel like a chore.

But when Catholics treats Confession like a figure skater's program, they go often. They are using what they heard in the last confession to help them sin less. They keep going, and keep trying to grow in holiness because they are determined to overcome sin in their lives. Every day they practice virtue, and as soon as they sin, they are running back to Confession and trying again. For these people Confession is part of a greater mission, not just a sideline event.

So what will Confession be like in 2016 for you? A New Year Resolution, or a Champion Figure Skater?