There have been many resolutions made for the new year.

• We promise to go to the gym.
• We promise to finally start that online course for our next promotion.
• We promise to go to church more often (and tithe more).
• We promise to keep a neater house and start knocking off those items on our bucket list.

Of course, it’s almost as much of a tradition to make these resolutions as it is to break them.

What, then, is the solution for this new year?

Proverbs (believed to be authored by Solomon, the wisest man in human history)—although, it should be noted, not even he was impervious to human fallibility—offers us a keen insight into this question. Though Proverbs is rife with specific suggestions and guidelines, its essence can be summed up thusly: live righteously. Opening our Bibles, we read from the beginning, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of the dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (4:18). The rest of Proverbs also contains numerous exhortations to belong to the righteous such as: “The prospect of the righteous is joy…” (10:28) and “The father of a righteous man has great joy…” (23:24).

All of which is well and good, but then it of course raises the question: in our day-to-day, mundane world of hustle, bustle, turmoil, and fret, how do we “live righteously”?

As they say, sometimes the questions are complicated, but the answers are simple.

From the mouth of the 22-year-old self-professed goofball, I offer you this:

• Live with dignity.
• Live with honor.
• Live with truth.

And, our favorite, the Golden Rule: treat others as you would wish to be treated.

I would offer further insight into these principles, but I believe that each individual can interpret them best to his or her ability. In essence, we will have to live with both ourselves and the consequences of our behavior for years to come, so all of those small compromises we make daily—the letters to which we forget to respond, the nights spent at the office instead of with family, the white lies and the little cheats—will begin to add up.

It’s easy to allow ourselves to get mired into the “hypotheticals” of life and to tell ourselves that these circumstances are “special.” However, I would suggest one day sitting down and thinking through the logical end to these actions—do we really want to be known as the mostly-truthful people, the kinda-reliable friends, the half-decent parents?

I know these simple pillars might seem difficult to achieve, but as Aristotle noted, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Though lofty, I believe that by attempting to follow these basic principles (in addition to a healthy dose of humility and a resolution to cling to positivity in a very scary, dark world), we can indeed make progress towards righteousness.

This new year, don’t make half-hearted resolutions with a 10-day expiration date!

Believe in yourself enough to make changes for life so that at the end of each day you will find peace in your heart, knowing you did indeed try your best.

“In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality” (Proverbs 12:28).

About Brett Beeson

Brett Beeson, officially, is an ensign (officer) in the United States Navy, currently stationed out of San Diego, CA. She graduated in 2014 from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Arabic and a minor in Spanish. Unofficially, she is the “evil twin” (one of Jory’s twin daughters), that annoying-friend-who-won’t-stop-calling, perpetual questioner, ice cream enthusiast, scribbler, roarer-of-laughter, and eternal student of God’s amazing mysteries. After extensive travel in Morocco and Oman, she has become passionate about furthering her/our understanding of the Middle East and Islam. To enjoy more of Brett’s writing, please visit Randomness with Brett.