Turning the page in the calendar from December to January is a universal time of reflection and also looking forward with anticipation. Not that there is anything special or powerful at this time of year that help us succeed in changes to our lives, but it is a marking point in time – changing from one year to the next. Many people make resolutions for the new year. They use the change from one year to the next as the catalyst to begin a change in their life. There are other people though, who claim to never make resolutions for the new year. They poo-poo the idea of New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe because they have failed in the past at fulfilling their resolutions. Maybe because they have seen many others fail. Or maybe because they “think it’s silly”.
While it’s true many resolutions fail to become reality that is not a valid reason to not make them. Something to consider regarding resolutions is that people make them without even realizing it. Maybe you decided you wanted to buy a house last year. Or you wanted to get a particular gal or guys attention. Or you decided to start a family. Or maybe there was something else you decided to do. We make resolutions all the time. They are not just for New Year’s.
Humans function in compartments. We have our work compartment, our home compartment, our family compartment, our friends compartment, our health compartment, our play time compartment… just to name a few. We also have time compartments – old age, middle age, retired, adult, teenager, child, infant, decade, year, month and day. Because we operate in compartments the New Year is a convenient and significant change of compartments. This makes it an ideal time to begin a journey to a new goal!
Understanding this concept of compartmentalization is an important tool in accomplishing what you want in your life. Whatever you want to accomplish, whatever you goals are, they have to be broken down into smaller pieces in order to build the plan for achieving them. So as we turn the page from one year to the next, I encourage you to take the time and spend the effort to reflect on your past year (or more) and determine if you are on-track or off-track for achieving your goals. Maybe you don’t know where the track is!
We are never stationary. We are either moving forward or moving backward. It is easy to float along with the current and let it take you… who knows where. It takes work and effort to paddle against the current to get to where you want to go.
Pursue Great! and head into the current.