What decisions have you made regarding 2022? What about this new year? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
The Latin root of the word “decision” literally means “to cut.”
“Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.”
“You should not decide until you have heard what both sides have to say.”
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Do you have children or grandchildren? If your do, how many of them remember the gifts you gave them during the holidays last year?
To what degree do your little ones light up when you walk in the door empty handed but with arms wide open for some big hugs?
In what ways do you agree with the statement, ”The best things in life are not things”? How do you show the people you care about the most that you cherish them?
EXERCISE:
Consider reading or re-reading The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Over the years, he has expanded his work to include books related to children, teenagers and other groups.
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Did you do a year-in-review assessment for 2022?
If you did, where did you notice things not progressing as you had wished? You may have even noticed some areas regressing.
If this is the case, it may be because we keep doing and thinking the same things over and over since they worked reasonably well in the past.
So many things around us have changed in the past year. When we remain fundamentally the same, it’s not surprising that a good number of our efforts miss the mark.
Questioning our thinking and adapting our behaviors accordingly seems like a wiser strategy for the year ahead.
EXERCISE:
In what areas of life would a few more question marks help you break some of your personal patterns so that new worlds may emerge?
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There’s no place like home is a saying of great comfort for most of us. It was Dorothy’s famous statement upon her return from visiting the land of OZ.
We all know about her journey to see the wizard and all the characters and experiences she had along the way. Perhaps she—and we—missed a lot along our journeys by holding on to an I’m not there yet perspective at the many places we found ourselves on our paths.
What if, instead, we saw each of our journeys as one of many homes, and experienced each moment of our life as the perfect place to be?
EXERCISE:
Where and when do you feel most at home?
How would expanding this view to include all your everyday journeys to have an even more richly rewarding life?
Who are the people in your life that set a wonderful example of living a rich and meaningful life?
How would you describe their character and best qualities?
How has their example impacted and influenced your personal and professional efforts?
Where in your world do you see terrible examples of how to live?
Where do you see people acting in ways that are contrary to what you value and believe?
How have their bad examples taught you valuable lessons that led you on a far better path?
EXERCISE:
Take an extra close look at the good and bad examples exemplified by people in your various communities.
What new or different choices and actions will you make and take from these observations?
Happy 2023!
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As we enter the new year, I hope that you are blessed with good health, happiness, and the opportunity to make a positive contribution to those around you.
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I played a good bit of tennis in grade school and high school. I was very steady, and consistent in my ability to run down and return most shots. My primary strategy was to keep a rally going until my opponent either got frustrated and beat themselves, or crushed me by hitting winners.
Fast forward a few decades and add some pounds and a bit of arthritis and knee pain.
These days my racket endeavors to keep the blood flowing and my competitive spirit engaged are focused on ping pong. With a little more rehab, I’m pretty sure the possibilities of pickle ball are in my future!
Where have you recently discovered some of your own limitations?
What new possibilities and potential are you discovering to pivot and keep the pep in your step?
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How healthy is your diet? How about your mental diet? How much fast food and fast information have you consumed in the past 24 hours?
To get your daily fix, what percent of incoming sources included tweets, texts, email, podcasts, or other sources of media?
Where and how often do you also consume nutritious sources of wisdom? To what degree do each of these sources help you to lead a more productive and meaningful life?
How would applying more sources of wisdom to your daily efforts act as guiding lights to illuminate your life?
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With the availability of better and better smart phones, I have been seeing far fewer actual cameras.
The days of family portraits seem like a thing of the past. Except for weddings and other significant celebrations, our cell phones do a pretty good job.
To be included in photos with our friends many folks lean on a selfie strategy. Even with very long arms and those awkward selfie sticks, the results can often fall short.
How would offering to take a photo for others or asking for some assistance yourself create even better memories with family and friends over the holidays and in the coming year?
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Throughout the Christmas holidays, many young children pointed their compasses toward the north pole and Santa. With high expectations for what they hoped to find under the tree, they have been pointing their recent efforts to both good decisions and behaviors.
Most of us have been disappointed by things not always turning out as we’d hoped. To navigate around various setbacks and point the way, it is helpful to keep our visions and values in mind.
Regardless of the direction we are headed, we can almost always “course correct” and find ways to give ourselves the gift of a more rewarding life.
What internal compass do you use to point the way?
How can you hold your expectations lightly and be more prepared for life’s unexpected roadblocks and detours?