Five Days

This is what is left of 2012 –

just five more days.  

Though I begin planning for the new year early in the fall, I like to take the last few days of the year to reflect.

Some years are good, some are – shall we say – challenging.  They make up the shades of life, and though we’d like them all to be the same bright golden hue, we would not live as deeply if they were.  Years tend to have themes and valuable lessons to be learned.  There are years of change, growth, adversity, victory, losses and gains.

Over the next five days, think about 2012.  What was the overall theme for you?  What went right? What went wrong?  What will you do in 2013 based on what you’ve learned in 2012?

Here are five questions for reflection – one for each day.

Join me in answering them, won’t you?  Share your thoughts in the blog comments as you’d like – it will inspire others.

1. What were the highlights of 2012 for you?

2. What were the challenges you faced, and how did you handle them?

3. How would you finish this?  

    2012 – The Year _________

4. Now finish this one:  

    2013 – The Year __________

5. What three things can you do to create that theme in the new year?

Here’s the thing.  We cannot totally control the future, but we can accomplish some pretty amazing things if we plan, focus, and act on them.

This doesn’t mean it will be easy (The Adversity Advantage), but if you don’t plan your life, someone else will plan it for you – and you may not like their plan.

So take these next five days to reflect.  And write down on a sticky note your answers to #4 and #5 above.  Post it where you will see it daily in order to keep your focus.

Then email me at this time next year to tell me how close you got to fulfilling that theme.

Happy New Year!