December 31st is the eve of a New Year. I have to be honest this is one of my favorite times of year. It’s a time to forget about the past and look forward with hopeful expectations towards the future. It means that everyone gets a clean slate and a fresh start. It can be a year full of endless possibilities. So many times we focus on all of our mistakes or short comings from the past. People all over the world tend to be haunted by the big three: could have, would have, and should have.
I am here to encourage you to take the advice of a friend of mine. His name is Paul. Paul said, “forget what lies behind and strain towards what is ahead.” There is no better time to take that advice than right now at the end of the year.
I want to give you some healthy exercises you can do going into a new year that will help you avoid the three headed monster of could have, would have, and should have.
1. Celebrate your accomplishments from the past year. List all of your successes on paper. (If you can’t think of anything, THINK HARDER!)
So many times we look toward the future and we forget to celebrate the past. I know this past year could have been difficult for some of you. Some of you have lost loved ones, some have dealt with physical or emotional pain/sickness, some of you have made some huge mistakes that have lead to regret and remorse. Unfortunately, Marty Mcfly and Doc Brown don’t exist and no DeLorean I have seen can help you travel back in time and change the past. Instead of dwelling on the past and bringing a negative mindset into next year, lets abandon that thought process and focus on the successes of the past year.
2. Make a list of personal, spiritual, financial, marital, family, recreational, and career goals for next year.
Zig Ziglar, say’s if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. Let’s make a list of some measurable goals for next year. For more on this refer to my previous blog Life to the full.
Here is quick look at some of my measurable goals for 2014:
- Work out for 30 minutes 5 days per week
- Read through the entire bible chronologically in one year
- Invest 10 percent of my income into retirement
- Take my wife to A Weekend To Remember Marriage Conference in February
- Go on a three-day golf trip with friends
- Turn my 5 part Dating Series into a book
- Read a minimum of one book per month to educate myself
Those are a few of my goals. What are some of yours?
3. Get help.
Some of you have dealt with addiction(s), emotional pain, or physical pain for way too long. If you have been struggling with something for weeks, months, or years, hoping it will go away on it’s own, when you’re done reading this blog start researching how to get help today. Things are not going to just get better with time, take a step towards healing today.
4. Get involved in a local Church.
So many people in our society have stopped going to church. Maybe you have stopped going or you only go once in awhile. I want to encourage you to find a relevant, practical and thriving church that can help you grow spiritually. Once you plug into that church, get involved using your gifts and talents and volunteer. This is one of the leading ways people find fulfillment in their lives.
Take advantage of the New Year by celebrating/forgetting your past and looking forward to a bright future. Your life is NOT small! Living a life worth celebrating is possible in the New Year.
Chris
No Small Life 