The ONE thing that you MUST do in the New Year!
Happy New Year!
You can sense all of the New Year excitement and you can see it too! The gyms are full, the merchandise return lines are still long, parents are trying to find things to occupy their time until the kids return back to school, traffic is pretty full in most places, and the grocery stores are all bustling. All signs of new rhythms, new resolutions, and getting back into new normalcy after the holidays have concludes.
Some of the really advanced planners are thinking about new reading list, workout plans, new shopping lists and recipes, and even knew hobbies. That’s all great stuff!
There is widespread and varied thought on whether resolutions work and whether we should commit to them or not. Some have even argued that theologically Christians shouldn’t make resolutions and simply work hard and focus on God.
I think the New Year gives us an opportunity press the reset button and resolutions are one of the ways that can cause us to pause and evaluate our progress, see where growth may be necessary, and recalibrate our lives to pursue our life purpose and mission and ensure alignment with our passions and goals.
In the middle of all of this planning, pondering, and list making I believe that there is ONE thing that we ALL must do.
We need to be clear of our NO / STOP list.
At the new year, most people start thinking about what they need to start doing and most often reflect on those things that they really need to get done and make happen. That’s good.
But at some point, if we keep adding things to our plates, our plates get full. If we keep adding coins to our coin jar, it gets full.
It’s interesting because we often hear of folks who talk about living in “overflow” or in abundance. I think that needs context. It is NOT a good thing to be always busy. It is NOT a good thing to have an overflow of food – all the time. It is NOT a good thing to have an overflow of unpaid bills. I think you get the idea…?!?!?
Just like this coin jar, you only have so much capacity – bandwidth, attention span, margin, reach, and dimension. In order to maximize your capacity – it is of the highest importance to really consider – what is the absolute BEST use of my time?
To really make room for more and better, we often have to disregard the old and clear out the clutter.
- What do you need to stop doing in 2018?
- What were you involved in that’s served its purpose?
- What projects were you pursuing that are now out of season?
- Who’s been in your circle of friends and people that you may need to create some distance?
- What habits have you wanted to start but just didn’t have the time?
- Who do you need to pull closer but haven’t been able to because others have been consuming your time?
Now’s a great time to be clear about what to say YES to, but MOST importantly, what to say NO to.
Happy New Year!