And What Makes a Year Like 2020 so Great?
Some people would argue that there was very little about the year 2020 that was great. 2020 was certainly not what I expected or had planned for. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t great.
Often, when asked how my day’s going, I will pause briefly, review the day and answer, Good, but then…
Every day is good. Some are just better than others.
While writing in my journal yesterday morning, I was enjoying the fire burning in the wood stove as I looked out at the falling snow. It was so peaceful and quiet. I don’t think life gets much better than this.
Not everyone would agree with my assessment of the snow. This is fine, we are all made different. The important thing about any situation is to look for the blessings. Just as some are not fans of cold and snow, I’m not a fan of heat and humidity. But in every situation, I work to find things to be thankful for.
The focus of this journal post was my annual life planning. Reviewing the past year and looking forward to the new year. As I thought about the coming year, I wrote…
2021 is going to be a great year, but then…every year is great. Some are just greater than others.
As I wrote this, I realized that this mindset was the same years as it was for days.
The new year is a natural time for stepping back and reviewing the past and planning for the future. It’s common for new year’s resolutions to be made and then be abandoned once the busyness of our daily lives takes over. This annual process is great, but it needs to be done more often if it’s going to be anything more than a fleeting resolution.
It needs to be done more often than just annually. It also needs done quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily. This is hard to maintain. We get into daily routines that become weekly, that become monthly, that become quarterly and the next thing you know another year has gone by.
We look up and realize we didn’t accomplish the things we wanted.
Several years back I broke my year down into these smaller increments as an effort to not loose track of my year’s goals. It worked really well until the past few years when I gradually neglected to keep it up. It’s up to me to not let this happen.
This is where my need for focused intensity comes in.
I have control over a limited number of things, but those things are directly connected to how great this new year will be.
Things I can control:
- What I say yes to
- What I say no to
- My schedule
- My attitude
- My perspective
I’m going to be intensely focused on my plans and the choices I make in 2021. This will make it a great year. Breaking the mountain down into shovel size amounts makes it movable.
As I review 2020, what made it great?
- I joined a mastermind group. Never before had I done anything like this. The friendships, personal growth and opportunities from this have been life changing.
- The personal and business connections from this mastermind opened up the opportunity to take a digital marketing training that have expanded my abilities and skills for growing my business.
- Substantial business opportunities that have and will come from these connections
- Opportunity to build an audiovisual booth in the sanctuary at church without causing disruption to worship service during the weeks we didn’t have live worship.
- Our Pastor’s willingness to start recording, broadcasting and sharing his messages virtually when we weren’t having live worship. (We had been trying to get him to do this for a few years.)
- Realization of how fortunate I am to have a loving family that is close both emotionally and geographically.
- A clearer understanding of who God made me to be and the skills I have and the opportunity to help others with them.
- The fact that I’m alive and haven’t completed the work that I was put here to do.
2020 was a great year, but then…every year is great. Some are just greater than others.
Here’s to your having a great 2021!
Fabulous post Mark!