Over and Over Again

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." 

Will Durant (paraphrasing Aristotle)

What do we find ourselves repeatedly doing? Are they good habits leading us to future growth and maturity?  Are they negative thoughts and actions that keep us caught in cyclical patterns of frustration and apathy?

The start of a new year gives each of us an opportunity to set new goals and think about new desires for the next season. Establishing the right habits to reinforce those desires will give us the foundation to be successful. To be excellent we should look carefully at the habits we've established and start to create new ones to lead us in the right direction.

Brand New Day

Today marks the start of 2017 and it comes bursting with the promise of something fresh and new. It's an accepted tradition to reflect on all the previous year held and to look forward to a clean canvas on which we can begin a unique work of art.

What really is the difference between yesterday and today? Except for changing the last number in the calendar year, there isn't a major shift except for our individual perspective. This turning of the last calendar page from the previous year brings heightened anticipation for the possibility of change and belief in growth. The shift forward in years allows us to imagine how things could be better and how this year will be different. Focusing on the new is motivating and reminds us that while we may not be satisfied with our current status, there is always time for improvement. Sometimes the excitement of potential is enough to move us forward.

We can be better, my friends. Let today be the start of something new.

Do or Be?

This is a time of year when most people are thinking about personal changes, creating new positive habits, and ridding themselves of negative ones. The change of calendar year stirs up thoughts of new hope and the possibility of improving who we are. These lists can be challenging and exciting while thinking about the changes we hope to go through in hopes of being better people. This often ends up in discouragement unfortunately as we abandon our lists before checking things off.

I'm discovering the key to long term success is in adopting the right mindset. Instead of focusing goals and objectives on what we want to accomplish, we should focus on who we want to become. This moves from just being a list of things I am going to do and becomes actions which help to shape me into the man I want to be. Even as I refine my own list of goals, I am looking at them through the lens of the man I hope to be at the end of this year. That perspective is a stronger motivator than being able to mark off my accomplishments twelve months from now.

Starting New

The idea of new beginnings has always resonated with me. There is great power in the concept of starting fresh and being able to see something new rise out of the past. This doesn't mean our history has always been awful or should be entirely forgotten (although that may often feel true.) It speaks more of the potential for the future with our past (the good and the bad parts) as the foundation for what lies ahead.

The promise of a new beginning helps me to stay forward focused instead of being disappointed with a lack of progress. It's a glimmer of hope and possibility like the rays of sunshine slowly lighting a brand new day. The start of a new year is that sunlight slowly creeping up the horizon and I want to step confidently forward in the illumination of what could be. Fortunately, it's not just reserved for the start of the year, but can be experienced each day if I'm willing to look for it.

Another Chapter Finished

Today is the last day of 2015 and I have been pondering this past year and my expectations for 2016 for a while now. My wife tells me I tend to be too hard on myself, but I will admit I haven't accomplished all I hoped in the past 365 days. I don't know that many people are ever 100% satisfied with the results of a year, but I feel it's important to carefully evaluate all we've experienced before moving ahead.

It's been a year of positive growth, times of disappointment, a sometimes frustrating pace of change, stretching past boundaries of comfort, and rethinking priorities. There have been many "close to perfect" moments: our annual vacation, other special events through the year with my family, personal breakthroughs (physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally), witnessing the transformation of people's lives, and seeing the impact of our lives on others. It wouldn't be an accurate assessment without taking note of the "not so perfect" moments as well. These have hit me personally as well as through the lives of people around me. They serve as reminders that there is always room for improvement, growth, and better decision making. This blending of positive and negative results challenges me to find satisfaction while not settling for less in the process.

This past year wasn't everything I hoped it might be, but it was also better in ways I didn't anticipate. I hope 2016 provides some of the same in fresh, life-giving ways.

A Personal Path

I don't want to shortchange the end of 2015, but the new year is drawing closer. There are still many experiences waiting to be had, relationships to deepen, and opportunities to seize in the current calendar year, but I am still starting to look ahead. I'm beginning to think about what I want this next year to look like and the things I want to accomplish. I'm processing goals in light of the lessons of this year (both positive and negative) and trying to determine where I want to be at the end of next year. 

I've read several things lately geared towards refining the goal-setting process and making it more effective. Most of them don't focus on well written objectives with assigned task lists. These other thoughts aren't centered on marking off the most items either. To be truly effective, I have to answer a basic (albeit not always simple) question: "Who do I want to become?"

Answering that question will fuel everything else I do. I don't necessarily have to have every detail laid out, but there has to be a general direction shaped by my passions and God's calling on my life. If I am unable to answer the question about my desired destination, then my pursuit of goals is less difficult. Without a target to hit, it doesn't matter which direction you aim. Developing clear thoughts on the man I want to become fuels the rest of the decisions I will make. This picture of a preferred future becomes the framework for everything I do. 

Birthday Time

Today is my 44th birthday. I haven't always made a big deal over my birthday for a lot of different reasons, none of which are actually related to getting older. In the last couple of years however, I've come to gain a greater appreciation for what this day represents.

It's another year to spend with those I love and to soak up the experiences we share. This new year is a chance to increase in wisdom and influence as I fulfill my calling. It's a chance for growth and refinement in my spiritual journey and to enjoy God's generous gifts of grace and mercy. Another year older represents the fact that God obviously isn't done with me yet and still has work for me to do as part of His Kingdom.

I've lived a longer life than I deserve and yet not as long as I desire. I'm grateful for the journey of life so far and look forward to where God will take me next.

Still Growing

As the year winds down I have been reflecting on the lessons and experiences of 2014. I don't know that I could accurately encapsulate all that this year has delivered. It is fair to say that it has been a year of stretching, self-revelation, expanded dreams, joy, sorrow, surprise, and disappointment. I do know that I am not the same man that I was at the beginning of the year. I may not have achieved all that I hoped to or grown in all the areas that I wanted to grow. Thankfully, the newness of the next year means that I get to keep working at it.

Newness

A new year holds the promise of doing things differently. It speaks of the potential of being someone different and not being held captive by old patterns of thought and behavior. It is the anticipation of an unwritten story that we have the opportunity to craft out of our discipline and desires. It offers hope that we won't have to marked by the past year, but can change that nature of our character through God's divine power.

It's the idea of a new beginning that is so attractive to each of us. Will we trust God enough in 2014 to see it become a reality? Will we seek the vision of a preferred future and match it with daily decision making and perseverance so it comes to fruition? Will we trust that God's definition of "new" is richer than our own?

We won't be transformed at the end of this year if we only talk about it or write it down. Start with crafting the vision for improvement, develop a plan for action, pray diligently as if it will only happen through God's power, and work as if the outcome depends on you.

Last Day

It's the last day of 2011 and in a somewhat cliche & typical manner I find myself looking back over the past 365 days (I actually have been for most of the month of December.) I don't believe that I could accurately reflect on all that this year delivered (and in some instances didn't deliver) in one blog. I will admit that it has been a tough and challenging year both spiritually and professionally. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it still has me sorting out the lessons that need to be carried over and implemented, and which ones can be set aside. There have been tremendous blessings for my family and God has certainly shown us favor and love in multiple ways. Our family has grown closer together this year and we have seen God's answer to prayers for our children and continue to seek Him for more. God is working in and through us to see His will made complete and even if I don't understand everything as it occurs I know that His plan will prevail.

I'm not finished ruminating on all that 2011 offered, but I also don't want to get trapped looking at the past when there are opportunities for growth in front of me that need to be grabbed onto. I look forward to seeing goals accomplished personally and professionally and know that success will be a blend of God's blessing & guidance and my faithful obedience and perseverance.

To paraphrase a popular sports writer: and this year will be better than the last.

Primary Concern

I've been thinking about a lot of things as 2010 has wrapped up and 2011 has now begun. I'm not a huge fan of the resolution format of starting a New Year. I do like the idea of growing as each year passes and hopefully moving even a little bit closer to Christ in the process though. As a way to kickoff a return to blogging after the holidays and stimulate some of my own thoughts for this year, I ask the following question. "What is your primary concern in life?"

I've actually been thinking about this question since I read it early this week and I decided that the correct answer is "me." I am my primary concern in life. I do what pleases me, I listen to the music that I want to listen to, I engage with people that make me feel good, I eat the foods that I enjoy, read the books that I want to read, watch the shows that entertain me and go the places that I truly want to be. If you (dear reader) are honest with yourself, you will admit the same thing.

None of us likes to admit this selfishness (I can assure you that I take no pleasure in confessing this narcissistic attitude), but I think that I must realize it if I am to work towards a different motivator for 2011. As cliche as it might sound, my primary concern must shift from my desires for family, hobbies, church and career to what God wants. My biggest motivator should be to live a life that has God as the central focus and then to let Him work through the rest of my life.

What a difference there will be a year from now if we could all agree to set aside our egotistical agendas and simply be concerned with pleasing God in thought, speech, action, habits and character.

Quotables Day 4

"The great thing in life is not so much where you stand, but in what direction you are moving."

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

The start of a new year brings about the requisite list of resolutions, a look back at the year that was, and an increased focus on bettering yourself.  I think it is safe to say that we all have things we want to improve in ourselves (if not I would challenge your honesty) and that the new year can be an impetus to work at those changes.  The discouragement comes when we don't see the results as quickly as we had hoped or when we realize that our actual resolutions have been the same for the past five years.  It has taken me several years to get to a point where I didn't allow the vision of who I could & should be to overwhelm the current reality of who I am at this moment.

I've shared with youth for several years now that God will meet you exactly where you are at, but He won't leave you there.  My point is that even though you may have convinced yourself that you are "too far gone", that God doesn't believe so.  However, when you are truly striving to be a committed follower, He moves you down a pathway that leads to you resembling Him more as you strive each day. 

In my mind that is the point that Sir Holmes is trying to make.  As long as we live here we are a work in progress.  The key is to be moving in a direction that leads to us becoming the men & women that God has created us to be.