Happy New Year!!!

              There is something about the New Year that just breathes a fresh start.  And I know its cliché and Hallmark sounding, but it’s still true.

A new year is our concrete chance to change the aspects of our life that we aren’t happy with.  It’s our chance to be super intentional and make goals.  It’s a new beginning, a fresh start, a sort of personal Genesis.

And it can be whatever you want it to be.

That’s the point, though.  If you don’t have the will to accomplish your dreams, to put in the effort to make things happen, nothing will happen.  And simply starting a new year will never change that truth.

The start of a new year is a time for self-reflection, for asking those questions that we don’t really want to ask.  It’s a time for being brutally honest with yourself and realizing that things need to change.

I want to challenge you to ask yourself the following questions.  I’ve pulled these different self-reflection questions from different articles, people, and myself.  You might know the answers right away or it might take a while.  You may not want to answer some of them at all.  It doesn’t matter.  Just answer them with complete honesty and challenge yourself a bit.

What are a few of your greatest accomplishments from 2017?

Before we look to the new year, its always helpful to think about the good things that happened this year.  This helps us to create goals for the new year based on our accomplishments from the past year.  Just name a few of the greatest things that you have accomplished.  You could also mention a few of your favorite experiences from the past year, almost as inspiration for the new year.

What are you grateful for?

Each year brings good and bad situations into our lives.  These experiences give us opportunities to show gratitude.  Sometimes it takes us simply being grateful to realize how truly blessed we are.  Take some time to be thankful for the blessings in your life before you start the new year.

What is my word for 2018?

The idea of picking a word for the New Year is something that I’ve been introduced to recently and decided to do for 2018.  It really is a cool idea.  Just think of one word or phrase that you want to be a major part of your year.  It could be something like leadership, courage, humility, purpose, or any other virtue or encouragement.  I chose to focus on the word ‘grow’, in the hope that I can grow in different area of my life with Christ’s help.

What is your prayer for 2018?

As Christians, we wear our faith on our sleeve.  We are called to a greater sense of purpose and virtue in everything that we do.  Just as you can choose a word to live by, you can also pick a short, concise prayer to keep in the back of your head each day.  You can even work your word of the year into this prayer.  Whatever you think will work for you and your relationship with Christ!!

What are the five areas of your life that hold the most importance?

 In the book, Off Balance, Matthew Kelly talks about the importance of understanding our priorities and keeping them straight.  He advises that we come up with five aspects of our lives that are the most important.  These could be faith, schooling, self-development, health, or the like.  Pick your top five priorities in life and place them in order of importance.  Kelly even suggests keeping this list in your calendar, your desk, and your wallet.

To take this question a little farther, make lists of your goals under each category.  Be concise and straight forward.  Take on one thing at a time and realize that life’s dreams don’t simply fall into place at once.  Use this time to start and see where you can go from there.

 

I pray that this new year is the beginning of great things!!  Have a blessed day and a wonderful start to 2018!!

Maddy