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How Do I Get From Here to There?

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Understanding Your Life’s GPS and Finding Direction

A friend and I were recently discussing the sense of overwhelm and out-of-control feeling that we were both experiencing. There are so many worthwhile, valuable  things pulling at our attention. How will I ever get them all done?

My to-do list is so long there’s not enough time to read it…let alone do it.

I’m tired of being stuck in this rut. I want a way out.

Some of the things on our lists, like classes and training, should be helpful. But too often, they just end up feeling like more things to check off.

Most of us want a clearer direction, but we’re not sure what that even looks like.

Since our discussion, I’ve been thinking and studying about how we can achieve our goals. It became clear that almost every approach to goal setting is essentially the same. Sure, there are small, nuanced differences, but they’re really all the same at their core.

Funny thing is, sometimes we need to hear the same thing several times before it resonates with us. Who knows why? Maybe it’s the speaker, or the form of presentation, or maybe it’s just timing, who knows? But suddenly, it lands.

This happened to me recently when I was going through Mark Shinnerer’s, Vision Building course. He compares creating a life plan to using a GPS. There really are a lot of similarities between the two.

One thing that’s critical to achieving goals is prioritization.

This is one of the things I struggle with most. When I’m staring at that mountain of important, worthwhile tasks…where do I even start? This indecision is where momentum gets lost.

Think about it like this: when going from here to there, using a GPS (Global Positioning System) we start by entering a destination. From there, it gives us some optional routes. In life, we need something similar. We need to use a Goal Prioritization System. This system will help us determine the path we will take to reach our purpose destination.

Here are some GPS similarities:

  • Determine where you want to go before you start. – Knowing where you want to go will make the trip more productive. That doesn’t mean that you can’t change the destination later, but frequent detours will slow your progress.
  • Choose which of the routes you’re going to take. – There are options: fast and direct, scenic and slow? There’s no right or wrong answer, just choose a path and get started. As you are on your way you can change your mind, and the GPS will reroute you.
  • Unexpected things out of your control will happen. – You may encounter road work, traffic, or a flat tire. These things require some adjustment to your schedule and/or possibly your route. Remember, some things are out of your control, but how you respond to them isn’t.
  • Unplanned things that will be in your control. – When en route, you may encounter scenic stops. Or you might come across someone else who’s in trouble on their journey. Stopping or not is a choice you get to make, just be intentional.

Once you have a clear vision of your destination, it’s up to you to get in gear and step on the gas. Otherwise, you will just sit in neutral, stuck in place, thinking about what might have been.

Because one thing is for sure:

If you don’t move forward, you will never reach your destination.

What Does Daily Life Planning Look Like?

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And How It Fits in My Morning Routine

We’ve been discussing routines and how they help us get more done. How reading and learning is a big part of developing a good routine. And how I use journaling. Last week it was daily planning.

The first thing on Daily Planning is reviewing my Weekly Life Plan. That’s what we’ll go over this week.

What is a Life Plan?

A life plan is pretty much what it sounds like … it’s a plan for your life. This plan is going to look different for everyone, because we are all different after all.

My life plan is made up of the dreams and goals I want to accomplish in my life. Each year I review them and put together a plan of what needs to be done this year to keep me on track. I then break those annual goals down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly actions to achieve my goals.

The Weekly Life Plan is then reviewed daily.

Reviewing this helps me to get my day started off focused on who I am and what my mission is. It breaks the big goals down into small pieces that need done today.

Last week, I talked about how I do this by opening a scheduled event on my computer calendar. In the note section of that event, there is a list of things to do. Some of those have links to a OneNote page.

Here’s what Daily Life Planning includes –

  • Word of the Year – Reminder of what my word of the year is and its accompanying theme.
  • Current Decision of the Seven Decisions – This a one-line reminder of the current decision that I’m reading through.
  • My Why or Purpose – This is what I’ve been put here to do.
  • My Mission – This is what I’m supposed to do with my life, based on my purpose.
  • My Vision – This is the larger picture: seven years in the future.
  • My Core Values – These are the twelve values that are the foundation my life is built on. I read through the list to remind myself what they are.
  • Life Principles – These are overviews of the Seven Decisions from Andy Andrews book, The Traveler’s Gift. And the twelve principles from the book, The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant by Terry Felber.
  • Breaking Big Things Down into Smaller Pieces – This is to once again to remind me that big things can be accomplished, but not all at once.
  • First Next Step – This helps me to focus on the next thing that needs done.
  • Weekly Results – A checklist of the things that need to be done this week in the different areas of life.
  • Someday Goals – These are the big dreams I have for the future. This is a list of things that can be done to keep me moving forward toward these big goals. Some are really, really big.

These are the big things on the daily planning list. It is more of a perspective and direction for the day. The rest of the things are more specific to the actions that need to be done today to stay on track for the week.

If you would like to see what my daily life plan looks like or would like a template to you can create your own, click on the download links below. If you have questions about life planning and how to incorporate it into your routine schedule a free 30-minute consultation.

Mark’s Daily Life PlanDownload
Daily Life Plan TemplateDownload

Get Your Day Started Off Right 

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Your Morning Routine Should Be Where Your Day Starts 

Being out of control is one of the most helpless feelings we can have. I shared a little bit about my struggle with this last week and how reading and learning changed things for me.  

It was the realization that I had control over my decisions and how this control affected my life.  

Routines are a big part of that control.  

A couple of weeks ago I shared how my daily routine helps me get more done. This routine gives me clarity for the day.  

Clarity starts with knowing our “why”. Too often people drift through life without giving any thought to their why. For me, it is more possible to accomplish my “why” each day when I start with my morning routine. 

To prevent me from forgetting my routine, I use some different tools. One of my tools is my Outlook calendar. This tool has alarms that remind me to do the next thing. It also allots a certain amount of time to do each thing. These time limits are initially set by me and can be adjusted as needed.  

As shared in the previous post, my morning routine starts by waking up with a shower and some coffee. Then, I do my daily Bible reading. My first calendar reminder is reading my Bible and praying.  

Reading the Bible and praying may not be for everyone, but for me it’s my blueprint for life. As a builder I know that I can’t look at a blueprint for a building and remember everything by only looking at it once. I need to constantly go back and review it. The Bible is the same thing for me and my life.  

Next, I spend some time in prayer. This is my conversation with God–who is like the architect of my life. This time is me asking the architect about things that I need more direction and clarity about. 

The next reminder is for my journaling. 

My daily journal is a word document that starts as a template. It is broken down into several different reminders or questions to be answered. There are three sections, one for morning, one for midday, and one for evening. By setting reminders for these three times each day, it helps me to stay focused. I fill out one of these pages each day. 

Here is an example of the morning section of my daily journal template with explanations for each item: 

Day of the week: ______________ Date: _____________ 

Life Mission: This is my “why”. Once this is figured out it remains the same and doesn’t change much. There is the possibility that early on it may not be crystal clear and need some modifications. But after a few years have gone by, it won’t change much. 

Word for the Year: Having a word of the year is a fairly common practice. It’s one we do at our church. We randomly draw a word from a basket at the beginning of the year. I research the definition of the word and write it here. Then, I read it each morning. 

Scripture for the Year: This is a Scripture that supports the word of the year. 

Theme for the Year: This is a quote or saying that supports the word of the year. 

Seven Decisions: This is connected to The Traveler’s Gift–the book that had the most impact on the change in my life. In this book, the main character is lost and ready to give up when he goes on an amazing adventure that changes his life. On this adventure, he is given seven different documents. He is instructed to read one of them each morning and evening for twenty-one days. Then, repeat this process again until he has gone through all seven decisions. I do this as a part of my daily routine. 

Morning Revelation: This is where I write down my conversation with God and get things out of my head and on paper. 

Looking forward today I will: This is where I write down how I will live my day and the things I will work to accomplish. 

Things I get to enjoy today: This is where I remind myself to enjoy this life I’ve been given and the opportunities the day offers. 

That is the end of the morning section of the journal. We’ll look at the rest of it in a later post. 

The next part of my routine is more about planning ahead for the day.  

This is scheduled in my Outlook calendar and is more action specific. Next week, we’ll look at the things included in this and how it works.  

Being intentional with my life and business starts in the morning each day. 

If you would like a copy of my daily journal template, just let us know in the comments. If you would like more details about my daily routine or have questions about how to run a successful construction company you can schedule a free 30-minute consultation.  

A Routine is Something That is Learned

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Books Are a Good Place to Start

Last week we discussed how a routine can help us get more done. Too many times, people drift through life without any plan. They neglect to take control of the things they can control.

I know how this is. I used to feel this way.

Early on I had big dreams. Then when they didn’t happen, I felt like my messy life was just what I was stuck with, and I gave up on my dreams.

Then God got my attention with a board upside the head.

I’d never been a reader, but while recovering from the concussion I began reading. Most of the books I started with were ones that were either written by or recommended by someone that I was listening to on the radio or podcasts. I admired these people and what they had accomplished or experienced.

This was a turning point in my life.

I began reading more and more. Then I began implementing the things from these books and their authors. I was taking back control of my life. This doesn’t mean that I can control everything. What it does mean is that I can control how I react and respond.

Here are twelve of the books that have had a major impact on my life and showed the importance of taking control:

Reading these books helped me to see what was possible if I was intentional and did something rather than just waiting for the next bad thing to happen. Part of what I learned was how a daily routine was a big part of taking control.

Having a routine helps control life.

My routine has been developing over the past fourteen years and will continue to do so every year going forward. The important thing to remember is that learning is something that we should do as long as we’re alive.

Taking control of my life and business makes me a much happier person than I was when I felt hopeless. Some things from these books are included directly into my daily routine, some are more peripheral.

We’ll go into more specifics of how these books are connected to my routine next week.

It’s Never Too Late to Learn

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You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

You’ve probably heard the saying, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks“. This means that it is very difficult to teach someone new skills or change someone’s habits, especially when they’re older. This phrase is often used to express the challenges of altering deeply rooted behaviors or learning new concepts. It is not typically about actual dogs, rather it reflects human experiences concerning change. 

We’ve been talking about how to build a better construction business and the tools and systems to make that possible. The importance of knowing who you are and your core values. This can seem like a lot of work. Especially with the limited time available in the construction industry.

Younger construction companies get a rude awakening when they find out how much they didn’t know about running a business.

I thought I knew everything I needed to when I started my construction business over forty years ago. Boy was I wrong!

I got to a point where what I thought I knew … I didn’t. I gave up and accepted that this mess-of-a-life was just the way things were. I needed to accept it and just continue through the rut. And I did, until I was smacked upside the head.

This event changed my life.

There were nudges that I became aware of before the accident that were a part of this change. I was listening to talk radio programs that were speaking to what I was feeling. These included things like Dave Ramsey, Michael Hyatt, Donald Miller, Andy Andrews, etc.

These guys seemed to have figured out how to get out of the rut and I was intrigued. One of the things these guys all had in common was…

The importance of reading.

I had never been a reader up to that point in my life. I saw it as something that required time that I didn’t have. But after the accident, I felt as though I had been given a second chance. Listening to them and what they were sharing resonated with me.

It’s like they knew what I was going through and had a way out of the rut. And the way out was learning. And a big part of learning is reading. It was clear to me. If I wanted things to change I needed to learn, and learning required me making a decision to do it.

Before then I had given up on learning. Learning was for kids in school. As an adult there wasn’t anything else that I needed to know. Boy, was I mistaken!

I’ve learned more since I decided to read than ever before. Learning is something that should never come to an end as long as we are still alive.

Learning is a choice!

Learning will lead to a better business and a better life.

Don’t become an old dog. It’s never too late to learn. If you would like to learn how to BUILD a better business and life for yourself, schedule consultation to get started.

What’s the First Next Step? 

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Breaking Big Things Down into Little Steps 

Over the past several months we’ve been talking about building a successful construction business. We’ve compared it to an actual building. You need to know what it is you’re building, what kind of ground you’re going to build on, and why it is you’re building.  

Clarity of what you want to build and having a plan is critical to success. 

Then comes the hard part … if you’re going to get it built, you have to do something. Making a decision and then taking action is hard. Especially when it involves something as big and overwhelming as building a business. 

This is the place where most people fail. 

So, how does one move forward when faced with a large, daunting project? 

You don’t focus on the huge, intimidating thing. Instead, you break it down into bitesize pieces. Then you start by taking the first next step.  

I closed last week’s post by talking about how I chose to incorporate The Seven Decisions into my daily routine and how something as small as a butterfly moving its wings can lead to amazing outcomes. 

I use my computer for keeping me on task each day. This next section is part of my daily routine. I use OneNote to organize and track these things. 

After I read through the decision for the day, I read through the overview of all seven decisions.  

Next, I step back and think big. Why am I here and what is it that I’m supposed to be doing? 

Being a believer in Christ, I remind myself that it’s important to not be afraid to dream big (Mark 11:23-24) because nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). 

 This is followed by the illustration below of how I can turn those big dreams into results:

DREAMS   →   VISIONS   →   GOALS   →   ACTIONS   →   RESULTS 

Start with Dreams – Turn Dreams into Visions – Visions into Goals 

Goals are bitesize Visions 

“A vision that is ready to go to work is a Goal” 

ACTION – I can only do ONE thing at a time, what will it be? 

If I’m going to accomplish the big things, I need to remember to break them down into small ACTIONS.  

At this point, I read through a list that I call the “FIRST NEXT STEP”. This list starts my day off in a proactive mindset. By reading through this list daily, it helps me to incorporate these things when I start something new or switch from one project to another.  

FIRST NEXT STEP:

  1. Start with prayer 
  2. Get off my “BUT”, stop making excuses 
  3. Put it on the calendar 
  4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help (delegation / accountability / education) 
  5. Take goals seriously (create a sense of urgency early) 
  6. Maintain positive forward momentum 
  7. Celebrate wins 
  8. Don’t overthink it 
  9. Break the goals down into brick size pieces  
  10. Make goals about giving and not about getting 
  11. Review progress regularly, and be accountable 

    This process helps me make big things doable. Sure, it takes time to incorporate this into my daily routine. Ultimately, it comes down to making a decision. I can choose to do this or do something else. But for me the time spent is worth it.  

    The same process isn’t going to work for everyone. This is where you need to decide if you just want to roll the dice on the outcome of your business or if you want to take control. 

    Breaking big things down and taking the first next step makes big things doable. 

    Ultimately, it is up to you to do something different to get a different outcome. Or you can just keep doing things the way you are.

    A Successful Business Starts with a Decision

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    The Question Is: Will You Make It?

    Last week we discussed my “aha” moment when I was recovering from a concussion. This revelation involved reading The Traveler’s Gift, a book written by Andy Andrews.

    In the book, David Ponder felt like a failure at forty-six years old. He had lost his job as an executive at a Fortune 500 company. Then he lost his part-time job working at a hardware store.

    He felt like a failure!

    Until he had an extraordinary experience that revealed the power of decisions to succeed in business and life.

    Before my accident I was at a place in my life that was nothing like what I had expected it to be. I had some big dreams when I was younger. I was going to be farming thousands of acres. Own a successful construction company. Have a nice, big, new home. Be driving new cars and trucks.

    Then, thirty-five years later, none of these things had happened. I did own a construction company, but it wasn’t anything more than a minimum wage job. I had conceded that this was the life I had and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

    I had accepted the fact that I was a failure.

    Then came the accident. I believe it was God’s way of getting my attention and telling me that things could be different. I really connected with David Ponder’s situation in The Traveler’s Gift.

    I was where he had been. He took the lessons learned in his journey through time and the people he met and implemented them in his life. He had the power of choice, and he used it.

    Here is an overview of the seven things he was shown and implemented that changed his life:

    THE SEVEN DECISIONS

    1. The Responsible Decision

    I accept responsibility for my past. I control my thoughts. I control my emotions. I am responsible for my success.

    “THE BUCK STOPS HERE.”

    “If decisions are choices…and our thinking dictates our decisions – then we are where we are because of our thinking.”

    President Harry S. Truman

    2. The Guided Decision

    I will be a servant to others. I will listen to the council of wise men. I will choose my friends with care.

    “I WILL SEEK WISDOM.”

    “God moves mountains to create the opportunity of His choosing. It is up to you to be ready to move yourself.”

    King Solomon

    3. The Active Decision

    I am courageous. I am a leader. I seize this moment. I choose now.

    “I AM A PERSON OF ACTION.”

    “My future is immediate. I will grasp it with both hands and carry it with running feet. When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act!”

    Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

    4. The Certain Decision

    I will not wait. I am passionate about my vision for the future. My course has been charted. My destiny is assured.

    “I HAVE A DECIDED HEART.”

    “Truth is truth. If a thousand people believe something foolish, it is still foolish! Truth is never dependent upon consensus of opinion. I have found that is better to be alone and acting upon the truth in my heart than to follow a gaggle of silly geese doomed to mediocrity.”

    Christopher Columbus

    5. The Joyful Decision

    I will greet each day with laughter. I will smile at every person I meet. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.

    “TODAY I WILL CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.”

    “Our very lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make choices. Then our choices make us.”

    Anne Frank

    6. The Compassionate Decision

    I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. I will forgive myself.

    “I WILL GREET THIS DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT.”

    “Forgiveness is a secret that is hidden in plain sight. It costs nothing and is worth millions. It is available to everyone and used by few. If you harness the power of forgiveness, you will be sought after and regarded highly. And not coincidentally, you will also be forgiven by others!”

    Abraham Lincoln

    7. The Persistent Decision

    I will continue despite exhaustion. I focus on results. I am a person of great faith.

    “I WILL PERSIST WITHOUT EXCEPTION.”

    “Great leaders – great achievers – are rarely realistic by other people’s standards. Somehow, these successful people, often considered strange, pick their way through life ignoring or not hearing negative expectations and emotions. Consequently, they accomplish one great thing after another, never having heard that something cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing!”

    Archangel Gabriel

    The experience David has on his travels helped him to connect with and understand these decisions. The same thing happened to me as I read the book.

    I realized that I had the power of choice. I could make decisions.

    Decisions are something that we too often reject or ignore. We let other people or situations make decisions for us. Then we find ourselves stuck in a rut, thinking there’s no way out.

    It doesn’t have to be this way. We have the power of choice. We can make the decisions if we choose to make them. But we have to make them. This is where success starts. The question is…are you going to make them?

    Wise Ones Still Seek Him

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    Are You Going to be Wise?

    Epiphany is an “aha” moment. A sudden revelation. When you become aware of something important. The appearance or manifestation of something.

    Christians celebrate Epiphany on January 6, twelve days after Christmas. Many countries refer to it as “Three Kings Day”. On this day, Western Christianity recognizes Christ’s manifestation to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were represented when the Magi visited Jesus. It showed how God’s gift of the Good News is for everyone. Epiphany celebrates God revealing himself to the world

    Because the church celebrates Epiphany on the first Sunday in January, this past Sunday was Epiphany. Pastor Lisa pointed out that –

    The song We Three Kings is a fitting message for Epiphany.

    We three kings of Orient are
    Bearing gifts we traverse afar
    Field and fountain, moor and mountain
    Following yonder star

    The men in the song weren’t really kings, they were Wise Men or Magi. They were astronomers or stargazers. This is told to us in Matthew 2:1-12 where they follow a star to go visit Jesus as a child.

    After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (verses 1-2)

    These wise men had been looking for the fulfillment of prophesies for generations. They were paying attention and ready.

    When God sent them the star they acted and went to find and follow Jesus.

    O Star of wonder, star of night
    Star with royal beauty bright
    Westward leading, still proceeding
    Guide us to thy Perfect Light

    The Magi brought gifts to Jesus that showed that they had been paying attention and knew who He was. They gave Him gold. Gold was a gift given to kings.

    Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
    Gold I bring to crown Him again
    King forever, ceasing never
    Over us all to reign

    They gave Him frankincense. This represents divinity. Frankincense is a fragrant resin that was poured out in worship. It was something given to gods. They knew who Jesus was.

    Frankincense to offer have I
    Incense owns a Deity nigh
    Prayer and praising, all men raising
    Worship Him, God most high

    They gave Him myrrh. Myrrh was used for embalming. These wise men knew what was coming.

    Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
    Breathes of life of gathering gloom
    Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
    Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

    The wise men paid attention. God spoke to them through dreams and a star. God told them to not tell Herod and to go home a different way.

    God told them what to do and they listened. Then they acted.

    The last verse of the song tells the story going forward.

    Glorious now behold Him arise
    King and God and Sacrifice
    Alleluia, Alleluia
    Earth to heav’n replies

    We need to be like the wise men. We need to read Scripture. We need to seek Jesus. We need to discern and obey God. We need to act.

    At the end of Matthew, Jesus tells us what we’re supposed to do.

    “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

    The wise men were seeking Jesus. They found Him and shared that with others. They wouldn’t have found Him if they hadn’t acted on what they knew.

    We need to be wise and do the same thing.

    The Next Step in Building Your Business

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    Going Forward from Core Values

    Building a business is like building a construction project. You need to know what you want the end product to be. You need to know what you have to work with. You need to have a plan for building and then build accordingly.

    Who you are is like the ground you build on.

    Just like building on sand is different than building on clay. You need to know who you are and then build the business so that you will be able to support it. Your why is the thing that supports everything else. This is who you were made to be.

    Previous posts about this –

    Next comes the foundation. This is your core values. The things that you choose based on what you believe. These can be different for different people.

    Just like foundations can be different depending on what they’re built on, there are some things that are required regardless of what the ground is like. The foundation is more flexible than the ground it’s built on. It can be modified and improved.

    It’s important to be clear on your core values.

    Previous post about this –

    Now that you have a solid foundation built on solid ground you can start framing.

    This part is where it’s really important to have a plan. There are a lot of different styles of building, and you need to have clarity.

    I know that when I started my construction business, I thought I knew what I was doing. Then after several years of struggling, I decided that what I was doing wasn’t working. I concluded that this mess was just how construction and my life were going to be.

    I was aware of the problems but didn’t know what to do.

    Then I had an “aha” moment. It involved being smacked upside the head.

    In December of 2012, I was literally hit in the head with a board. It was a pretty big one too (a 14’ long 2×12 plank).

    We were installing wafer board boxing to the second-floor wall of an addition. I was standing on the plank approximately 8’ above the ground when it broke. Luckily, I don’t remember any of the ordeal from the time I was measuring until I woke up in the hospital three days later. Based on what I was told, I fell, I hit my head on one of the ladders, then on the concrete slab, and then the board hit me in the head.

    It sure is good that I have a hard head. Seriously, I was fortunate that I came away from this accident with only a concussion.

    The reason I’m telling you this is that while I was recovering I read The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews. I really connected with this story and where I was.

    Forty-six-year-old David Ponder feels like a total failure. Once a high-flying executive in a Fortune 500 company, he now works a part-time, minimum wage job and struggles to support his family. Then, an even greater crisis hits: his daughter becomes ill, and he can’t afford to get her the medical help she needs.

     When his car skids on an icy road, he wonders if he even cares to survive the crash.

    But an extraordinary experience awaits David Ponder. He finds himself traveling back in time, meeting leaders and heroes at crucial moments in their lives—from Abraham Lincoln to Anne Frank. By the time his journey is over, he has received seven secrets for success—and a second chance. The Traveler’s Gift offers a modern-day parable of one man’s choices—and the attitudes that make the difference between failure and success.

    After reading this book I realized that if things were going to change, I would have to do something. I was the one who had control. I had the power of choice.

    Next week we’ll look at the Seven Decisions presented to David Ponder and how I incorporated them in my life.

    You can incorporate them in your life too.

    A New Year, A Clean Slate

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    Why Did the Turkey Cross the Road?

    It’s just a few days until the beginning of a new year. This start represents an opportunity for new possibilities. The thought of this can be exciting. The chance to do better…to be better. This is what encourages us to make ‘New Year’s Resolutions’.

    The process of making resolutions but failing at them over and over makes us hesitant though. Most of the time people give up on resolutions after a few weeks. Only about 8% of people that make resolutions will stick to them.

    Most resolutions are good, and if kept, would make us better.

    The possibilities are exciting, we want to be better. Most resolutions are admirable, so why don’t we keep them?

    I think most of the time it is the lack of a clear plan.

    It reminds me of some wild turkeys that were crossing the road near my home. There were fifteen or twenty birds going across as I approached them in my truck. Some continued on across, some turned and went back, but one couldn’t decide which way to go.

    It ran back and forth going in circles in the middle of the road. This indecision and lack of clarity put this bird at risk of failure…and in this case, failure could have been really bad.

    Good thing I was driving slowly.

    If we don’t want to be like that turkey we need a clear plan. We need to know where we want to go. Then take the necessary actions to get there.

    The first thing to do is determine WHY. WHY do we want to accomplish this thing? The WHY will be the motivating factor. The WHY gives us the reason to move.

    WHY do I want to cross the road?

    Next, we need to know HOW. HOW gives us the map to get from here to there. The HOW gives us a direction to go.

    Now I know HOW best to cross the road.

    But, this is where things begin to get tougher. There are a lot of different systems that you can use for this. The problem is that what works for one person may not work for another.

    I’ve used several different things over the years. The conclusion I have come to is this. It matters less what the system is and more about whether you use it or not.

    You have to move, otherwise you’ll be left standing in the middle of the road.

    As I’m thinking forward to the new year, I will be working on a plan for 2025. Each year, I modify and tweak my systems so that they work better. I schedule time between Christmas and New Year’s Day for working on my ‘Life Plan’.

    It starts with scheduling it on my calendar. It’s critical to being intentional.

    I will look back at what worked and what didn’t throughout the past year. I will look to the future to see where we want to go. Most importantly, I will plan to take action. And I will have a way to measure progress, so I can see how we’re doing.

    Resolutions are only as good as our actions. Like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, we have to decide to be different if we’re going to be different.

    Don’t be a turkey. Make a plan before you start crossing the road and stick with it. Don’t stop in the middle of the road. You can continue to improve on the plan every day if you keep moving.

    Make a plan and get out of the middle of the road!

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