The One Thing You Must Do to Start Your New Year on the Right Foot
/
The presents have been opened. We're all emerging from that month-long delusion that a diet composed of 80% cookie/candy/pie/carb was a fine idea. Our email inboxes are inundated with messages from merchants waving 75% off discounts on all the lovely things we wanted this holiday season, but didn't find under the tree, wrapped in a pretty red bow. Yes, that's right, Christmas is over. And now we all turn our attention to the New Year, with all of its possibilities and opportunities. Surprises and expectations.
So, just a quick post from me today to encourage you to think about a word or phrase that sums up what your goals are for 2018--a theme for the year, if you will. This might sound simplistic or it might feel like a frivolous activity when there are exams to prepare for, licenses to get, houses to sell, etc. But...
We need a focus for our work. We need to organize all of those moving pieces around a common motivation. We need to corral all of the thoughts and possibilities roaming around in our brains, so that we can turn them into something. We need a theme to which we can return. One that helps us know when to say yes to one opportunity and no to others. We need clarity and purpose. We need categories and priorities.
We need a word for the year.
To help you get started thinking about what yours might be, I'm including my themes for 2017 and 2018.
In 2017 the word for me was WORLDWIDE. I found artwork to hang up at home and at work, that reflected that theme. Wherever I was and whatever I was doing, I could look up and see a visual reminder to think bigger; to think globally. Whenever I was reluctant to expand my horizons--whenever that little voice in my head said, "who do you think you are to dream that big?"--I would remind myself that God has the whole world in his hands and I trust Him to make way for the dreams he's placed in my heart. This year I thought worldwide in my philanthropy as well, supporting international causes that spoke to me. I'm also purchasing rental properties here in America, with the income from each unit designated to supporting a mission family in the important work they do in the world. I can't go into the mission field now, but through my work here at home I can contribute to others who can.
I have been carefully watching out for a pattern or theme for 2018 and it's this: Beyond Measure. As we continue to grow the business in 2018 and expand nationally and internationally(!), I feel a confirmation that it will produce health, wealth and abundance beyond measure. I'm so incredibly thankful for the people God has brought into my life. I can see divine appointments at every step along the way and I'm so excited for what's ahead for us all.
What will your word be for 2018?
