“Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things.” Kenneth Branagh
We are coming down to the end 2018. How has this year been for you? The end of the year always brings out our reflective nature. There are times when it gets to the end of the year and I reflect on that current year and it feels like I wasted a year. You ever have that feeling where you can’t really think of what you did with your time. There have been years where I had goals I wanted to accomplish and habits I wanted to change only to come to the end of the year knowing that I had wasted another year. You’ve probably had a similar experience. Looking back too much can cause you not to move forward.
One of my goals for 2018 was to reach a certain weight. This may not be something that you are aware of but it is becoming more mainstream for men to openly care about their health. That starts with our weight. Well the previous year (2017), I had gained quite a bit of weight and I was feeling tired, I started having different health challenges and I knew that something needed to change.
I prayed about it and started a diet plan that helped me get down to the weight that I needed to. I’ll admit, it hasn’t been easy and this year more than ever I’ve had to watch what I eat. Have there been times where I didn’t stick to my diet. Did I through my plan out of the window? No, I vowed that this time would be different. I prayed, I asked for help from my wife, I did whatever I needed to in order to get back on the plan and turn a habit into a lifestyle.
How do we reflect on the past, but then move forward with our futures? We don’t want to let our past hold us back. It is possible and we can look back at 2018 and instead of being stuck in 2018, we can propel ourselves into 2019.
- Be honest about what didn’t work. There are too many times where we romanticize the failures. We look at our #TBT pictures and post and remember events and things as being better than they were. Be honest about what went good and what didn’t go quite as good as planned.
- Make a plan for the next year. Reflecting can be great but looking back to much can keep us from going forward. Plan for what you want the next year to look like. Goals and dreams without a plan will just be “what ifs” at the end of the year.
- Extend yourself some grace. Know that there are going to be hiccups along the way. The path from where we are to where we want to go is never a straight line. We can be our hardest critics when things don’t go the way we think. Give yourself some grace through the hiccups.
