5 Steps to Starting a New Year Right
“All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly.” Proverbs 13:16
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5
I’ve been told successful people take time to evaluate their past and it helps them to make changes and prioritize for the new year. There’s a true saying, “If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.” Proverbs tells us “All who are prudent act with knowledge”. It is prudent (wise) to take the time to evaluate, prioritize and set new goals for the new year. I suggest taking a small retreat and using the time time to pray, fast and seek God’s will for your life for the next year. If you can get out of town and do an overnight that is ideal. Some will complain they don’t have the time. But taking a day or two to pray and plan for the next 365 days of your life seems like a good idea to me. If you don’t have the time I would say your priorities are out of whack.
Here is a brief overview of what I do towards the end of each year or early in the new year. If you want to maximize your effectiveness in 2018 I suggest you do the following.
REFLECT
The end of a year is an excellent time to reflect on the previous year’s activities. Get out a notepad and start a list of everything that comes to mind in the last year. That list can include major events and accomplishments as well as setbacks and challenges. How would you describe or rank your year? Evaluation is an important step that facilitates positive change for the future.
REFOCUS
Now it’s time to start setting priorities for the coming year. What is it you want to be, to do, to have or accomplish? This is the dreaming big stage and write down whatever comes to mind. You may want to have two categories, Personal and Professional. You’ll have time later to narrow the list down so fill up the page!
Here’s my Personal list for next year:
- Renew my passport
- Take a CHL course
- Lose 40 pounds
- Write a Study Guide to my book “Ascending the Mtn of God”
- Plan a summer vacation road trip to the NW U.S.
- Remodel the guest bathroom
- Paint/update the kitchen cabinets
REORDER
Now it’s time to prioritize. Once you have your list you may need to narrow it down to your top ten. Start off with trying to accomplish too much at once and it’s a recipe for failure. Once you have your list then it’s time to rank them in order of importance. This forces you to really consider what is most important to you. I ask myself, “If I only accomplish one thing on this list this year what would I want it to be?” My first choice goes at the top of the list and then I ask the question again for the remaining items.
REWARD
This is the vision casting step where you answer the question “Why do I want to accomplish this?” This is where you think about the benefits and rewards of completing each item on your list. When you grow weary and want to give up this is what will keep you in the game.
RESTART
Every year is a new year to begin again. We can wipe the slate clean from last year and start over fresh. I had some things on my list from last year that didn’t get done. They’re still important so I moved them to this year and will restart. I refuse to give up and not do anything just because I’ve failed in some areas the previous year.
When I carve a few days out of my busy schedule to really pray and contemplate on the upcoming year it does more than give me a game plan. It gives me confidence that what I’m doing is important. It also is a quick way to refocus and get back on track so it actually increases my overall productivity.
“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalm 20:4
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