With only a month and a half left in the year, this tends to be the time I start freaking out and auditing everything and everyone in my life. Like most, I start planning out next year’s goals, while assessing the current year’s accomplishments. I begin to ask myself a ton of crucial questions relating to my personal growth. This time of reflection allows for me to have peace going into the New Year, knowing that I am not only a work in progress but a person working towards such consistent progression..
One thing I have learned as the years have gone on, and especially this year is that every single second counts. And the things you do in life, small and large are either feeding you, taking from you or wasting your time. There is no other option. So this year I made it my goal (not that I completely succeeded at it) but to maximize every single second that I have, and to audit the productivity of everything I do, and must say that changed EVERYTHING for me.
I now think twice about every invitation I get out, to lunch, dinner, event or even conversation I participate in. I evaluate very quickly asking myself, “can this somehow benefit my future goals/business, can I learn something from it, or is there something better I could be doing with my time?”. If the answer is no, I quickly without any hesitation DISENGAGE.
So, being that we’re weeks away from 2018, what have you accomplished? What do you aim to achieve in the next year? And, how do you plan to do better and be better in every aspect of your life? Take a good look at your relationships and determine who and what needs to be greater served or put on the backburner to release deadweight. Is there anyone that should be cut off because their influence or presence is toxic? Or, is there something or someone holding you back from your goals? Here are some major questions I like to ask myself in my times of reflection:
Where did I devote most of my time and attention?
In what area of my life did I improve most?
Did I actually reach the goals I set for 2017?
What did I do to improve the kingdom or strengthen my relationship with God?
Did I take that extra step to conquer a long-time fear?
Did I start the business I was hesitant to launch?
Did I let go of the relationships I knew were no longer beneficial to my life?
Was I able to save some extra money and decrease some debt?
We should all ask ourselves these questions, not with the intention to make ourselves feel bad or like we didn’t do enough, but in order to improve for the next year and hold ourselves accountable to stay on track.
Along with that, here are a few scriptures to meditate on during your reflection time:
Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full. John 10:10
… for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again… Proverbs 24:16, NIV
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7, NLT
No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. Philippians 3:13-14, NLT
JaLisa <3
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