I’m a New Year’s kind of guy! I love fresh starts. The chance to dust myself off as necessary and begin anew, anticipating better than what I’m currently experiencing.
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I have to admit though—there’s nothing magical about January 1. Any day and every day is a good day to make improvements—to change what isn’t working and begin new habits.
But there is something about the New Year that causes all of us to think a bit deeper about where we’re at and where we want to be.
Years ago I established the habit of doing a big picture review of major areas of my life at the beginning of the new year. Before jumping into setting goals, it’s good to take some time to reflect on the past year. Celebrate the wins. Learn from the missteps. Then set your sights on making improvements in areas that will matter most. Expect the best—prepare for the worst.
If you don’t have such process, here is my list of ten action steps for the New Year for your consideration.
For most, the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is a wonderful time of the year. Family gatherings. Parties. Traditions. Staying up late with friends. Relaxing mornings with family. Gratifying acts of kindness and service. Spectacular extravaganzas and moving church services.
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But there is also a dark underbelly for many this time of year. For those who have lost loved ones, their absence seems magnified during the holidays. What should be a time of celebration becomes an unusually sad and sometimes dark season.
If that’s you, I know how you feel. I mean it—I really know how you feel.
We’ve all been there. Not wanting to be ungrateful for the good in your life—yet you can’t deny the sense that there is something so much better. You can feel it—dream of it.
Or perhaps you’ve stopped dreaming. You’ve simply accepted your current condition as the way it’s going to be: your standard of living; your marriage; your job; your level of health.
In either case, you’re right.
Thank you! No, I mean it…thank you!
You’re not even sure what I’m thanking you for—but you’ll have to admit the words sound good!
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We’ve got the Thanksgiving holiday coming so this is a good time to talk about the power of a thankful attitude and its expression.
Stephen Covey made the metaphor of “sharpening the saw” famous in 1989 with his bestseller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit #7 is: Sharpen the saw—principles of balanced self-renewal.
But Covey didn’t create the principle—it’s Bible. It’s a timeless principle for all of us.
If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
Ecclesiastes 10:10
All of us are busy. Although many often complain about being too busy, they are really lamenting they aren’t busy with the most important things. Are you busy doing what you want and feel you are proactively working towards those goals most important to you? Or, are you running ragged reacting to the demands of others and circumstances?
Ouch.
Productive people are proactive rather than reactive. Things happen mainly because they plan their work, then work their plan.
Picture an army retreating. Next, think of a time when you were so overwhelmed by the pace of life that you wanted to run away. The connotation of those images is one of defeat—cowardly running away.
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But the principle of the retreat is a very strategic military maneuver when designed to regroup to come back more effectively.
The best single-word definition for leadership is influence. And I don’t believe any position has greater influence than that of a parent.
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Yet influence is more than just telling someone what to do. Too many parents simply wield their authority and bark out commands. To truly influence your child for good, you’ll have to lead by example. You have to go first.
We make hundreds of choices everyday—some thoughtfully, some not. The best decisions, however, are intentional based on a set of core values.
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I believe in making time for self-discovery and exercises that help reduce core beliefs and values to paper. You may not have done so formally and may feel you have a pretty good idea of what values guide your choices. But the more thought you put into such things, the more deliberate you become—and the better your chances for hitting the mark for which you were created.
