(RNS) Instead of year-end analyses and new-year resolutions, I prefer to share important lessons I have learned. Most came the hard way. That's the first lesson: The easy way rarely leads anywhere worth going.

Here are others as we begin a new year:

-- Make your bed and wash the dishes. Take pride in doing the basics well.

-- If you make a mess, clean it up.

-- Trust your gut.

-- Seek justice, not revenge.

-- Tell the truth, even when it's inconvenient.

-- If the cashier gives you too much change, give back what isn't yours.

-- Embrace your uniqueness, don't rush to conform.

-- Be as beautiful, handsome, successful and skilled as you can be, and don't listen when others set standards and boundaries that only serve them.

-- Listen first, speak second.

-- Don't tell anyone to "shut up," especially a child.

-- Love your partner and be as loyal, steadfast, patient and generous as you can be. Trust your partner to fill in the missing pieces.

-- Don't let someone pay you less than you are worth. Don't demand more than you are worth.

-- Enjoy work.

-- Don't go along with the crowd.

-- Not every argument is worth having. Look up facts, and be kind toward opinions.

-- Being right counts for little. Getting your way counts for little. Being generous counts for everything.

-- Dream unceasingly. What you see in front of you is never all that can be.

-- Change isn't your enemy. People who resist change to protect their privileges are the enemy.

-- Light and darkness are always at war. Your life is what they fight over.

-- When a preacher tells you what you want to hear, stop listening.

-- Politicians and cowards aren't to be trusted.

-- Eat simply, live simply, love extravagantly.

-- Soldiers fight wars that politicians declare. Respect and support the troops, and then choose better leaders.

-- When teachers and bankers earn what they truly contribute to society, it will be a better world.

-- A healthy society protects the vulnerable. A corrupt society allows dark forces to prey on the vulnerable. We live in the latter, and it's time to fix it.

-- Praying to God is wise. Scripting God's response is foolish.

-- When people quote Scripture and the Constitution in pursuit of power, your freedom is at risk.

-- People want jobs, not handouts. People want respect, not pity. People want freedom, not comfort.

-- Owning a black robe doesn't confer wisdom on a judge or a preacher; just look at the Supreme Court.

-- If someone criticizes you for voicing an opinion that they don't like, voice it again. And again. The sky won't fall on either of you.

-- The greatest rock 'n' roll songs of all time are those that made your heart sing.

-- Always be reinventing the wheel. Always pursue change for the sake of change.

-- Be curious about what lies around the next corner.

-- Read stories to children. Then buy them books.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of "Just Wondering, Jesus" and founder of the Church Wellness Project. His website is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com. Follow Tom on Twitter (at)tomehrich.)