The One Thing I Do at the Beginning of Each Year
Last week, I blogged about a ritual I perform at the end of every year, for the last thirty years. Today, I will share with you a second ritual I do, as a follow up. It enables me to enter a new year “on purpose.” After I invest a morning reviewing the previous year, I spend the second half of the day previewing the new year. Once again, I think, I write and I pray as I open a new chapter of my life.
I don’t simply create a list of goals, although some of the items I will list below feel a lot like a “goal.” I like to view it as an “action” list and a “standard” list. What are the actions I plan to take, and what are the standards I plan to live by over the next year?
Here are the issues I address to create the goals, actions and standards for 2017:
- What are my greatest dreams for 2017? What projects will these dreams require of me? What daily actions must I engage in to fulfill them?
- What standards will I live by, throughout the next year:
- Health Standards
- Family Standards
- Financial Standards
- Friendship Standards
- Personal / Spiritual Standards
- In what areas of my life do I most want to grow in 2017?
- What books will I read this next year to achieve those growth goals?
- What mentors will I seek out to achieve those growth goals?
- What magazines will I scan and file to achieve those growth goals?
- What events will I attend to achieve those growth goals?
- What podcasts (audio recordings) will I listen to, to help me grow?
- What will I do Monday through Friday to be intentional about my growth?
I want to be better in January of 2017 than I was January 2016. To do this, I have found that the issue is not prioritizing your schedule but rather scheduling your priorities. This means I must put into my calendar those things I say are the most important habits and attitudes I can embrace. Our character is simply made up of the habits and attitudes we possess daily.
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