New Beginnings
January, a time to refresh the soul and putting emphasis on what we should leave behind or take with us from the old year, and what we desire to develop in the New Year. These decisions empower the soul with essentials for change.
Why, you may ask, is the soul an important factor in our efforts for change? Because it’s this area of who we are that most influences what we actually do in life.
Let’s begin first with “Who are we?” Our body is the most visible part, enabling us to connect with things in the physical and material realms through our five senses. The spirit’s our innermost part, providing us contact with God and substantiating everything in the spiritual realm.
The soul contains our mind, will, and emotions. It’s how we communicate in the psychological realm. It is within the soul where the greatest battles take place. It’s here where we can guarantee the components of our New Year before it even arrives!
Let’s consider how these three points contribute to our process:
Health
- How do you feel?
- Do you have a date scheduled for your annual checkup?
- Are your preventive screenings up-to-date?
- Do you know the important numbers that reflect your health? Included are getting these blood levels checked: a CBC, glucose, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides , DHEA, hemoglobin A1c, homocysteine, C-reactive protein, and TSH , and getting your blood pressure checked. For men only, what about your levels of PSA, testosterone, and estradiol?
Having the physical strength and mental ability to lead a life of being well and doing well is based on how well you are!
Time
- What are you spending your time on?
- Is there ample room for you, the roles you play, and the positions you hold?
- How well does your time management system handle personal, family, community, and/or career responsibilities?
If we don’t make space for our New Year, how will it be new? How, where and when we spend our time determines our level of flexibility for the emergencies that crop up.
Faith
- What do you believe?
- Where do your spiritual values, or lack thereof, come from?
- Does your spirit experience and promote peace, love, hope, forgiveness, joy, and sacrifice without judgement, bitterness, wrath, or hate?
- Do you practice what you believe?
- Are you guided by the convictions of your faith?
The objective here is to establish and settle on the purpose and origin of your faith, or even to establish a lack of faith. It’s not about what your family or friends believe, or what people say. It’s about creating and nurturing a deliberate spot for God in your life for eternity.
Now we’re ready to get that January refreshing on the way!
Start by constructing a wish list, or a list of long-term goals. Write down the desires and dreams you’d like to see occur in the New Year as if you could see the end result right now. Then look at each item and backtrack to assess exactly what it will take—resources, time, skills, and/or other people—to accomplish.
Now take one small piece of your master list. Ideally, this is the most important item. Devise a plan to bring it into reality. Yes, you need a plan—even if it gets altered along the way.
My Thoughts about Plans and Planning
A plan isn’t a resolution, but a structured representation that gives your desires and dreams arms and legs so you can arrive at your destination of choice. Having a plan takes the pressure off of trying to remember everything and everybody, and why we’re doing what we’re doing. (Having a plan alleviates the pressure of trying to remember everything and everybody) It builds in management pieces that keep what’s important in view and weeds out distractions, helping to define elements that are worthy of your time and energy.
A plan isn’t a to-do list or a rigid, minute-by-minute schedule. A plan requires all parts of our being to reconcile and generate movement in the same direction. It’s a resource for planting seeds of commitment, forgiveness, and compassion toward ourselves to reap a harvest of possibilities in our life.
I know you didn’t see that last line coming. However, it’s my sole purpose for writing this post. It’s the source from which I believe you can make your New Year new. The power for change is in your mind, will, and emotions (the soul). Why else would we struggle with some of the same issues year after year without experiencing relief or change?
Personally, learning to take that power away from my soul and give it to my spirit has redefined my life. Anyone can do it. It wasn’t a religion, culture, race, economic status, intelligence, outward appearance, or any other thing that helped me. It was an inner faith thing that resulted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I accepted His view of me and the unconditional love He gives to put forth the best me. Not perfection, not a finished product, but a life under construction that reflects the greatness inside.
It’s time for that personal work……… get the new Year moving onto greatness!
