I’ve been MIA (missing in action) for a couple of weeks. My apologies.
Each year around this time I step back and take a long life-look over the year. It is so easy to continue doing things the way they have always been done even though you find yourself in the same position time and time again. This is the time of the year people want to erase the last 12 months, and jump into the next year without truly taking time to digest what went well, what went wrong and why. We want to throw ourselves full speed ahead seeking desperately to leave the past in the past…and I get that…however, one can gain power, strength, and a victorious mindset when taking a little time to reflect on the days, weeks, and months you have lived in 2017. There is so much untapped wisdom to be extracted from the past twelve months. However, you must know where to begin. It’s easy to skip over the things that hindered you, but we cannot. We must deal with these things head-on. It’s easy to ignore those troublesome areas where you were holding on by an unraveling thread. We have to intentionally go looking for those areas to be successful in the upcoming 12 months by strategically mapping out each quarter…one at a time.
In the same way, we must search for our accomplishments. What are those uncelebrated life-changing accomplishments hiding behind the curtain of your life? We usually focus on those things that we deemed as hindrances instead of celebrating the wins.
Let us not forget the unnecessary baggage we carry. Time to pull out the heavy-duty trash bags and start dumping some stuff. It’s time that we lighten our load. Let us ‘pray to lose’ the weight of lift that is weighing us down.
It’s time to do a year-end review. So often people will say, “Don’t look back. Plow ahead.” However, we believe you must take a couple of days at the end of the year to do a 2017 ‘Life-Look’ and evaluate what worked well and what areas need adjusting or eliminating. Don’t stay there. Don’t get depressed while reflecting. Don’t be burdened by what you see. Learn from those areas where you struggled. Brush yourself off. Get back up. Move forward.
“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out to me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” Philippians 3:13-14 MSG
Let’s get started: First using your smartphone, an iPad, posted notes, or a sheet of paper, write down each goal you set out to accomplish in 2017. Following these prompts work through each goal and honestly write down what you actually accomplished, what you semi-accomplished, AND write down what you no longer have interest in accomplishing.
- Take each goal that you actually accomplished and write out why you were able to accomplish each goal. Be specific such as stating if this was a goal you were passionate about, something you always wanted to accomplish, etc.
- Take each goal that you semi-accomplished and write out why you were unable to complete each goal in its entirety. Be specific such as stating if this was a goal suggested by someone else, something that truly was not important to you, share your feelings about these goals, etc.
- Take each goal that you no longer have an interest in accomplishing and write out why you have lost interest in these goals. Again, be specific.
Now take a ‘Life-Look’ back. This becomes your motivation and success strategy for greater in 2018. From your answers identify two goals for each quarter in 2018. Then identify three to five main goals for the entire year. Place on newsprint and place on your office and/or prayer wall.
Now that you have looked back…what do you see?
~ Launching 01.03.18 www.1Experience.info
