Happy New Year!
Do you want to make a new start? We are in a season of new beginnings, a new changes, a new season. Perhaps “new” for you: is starting over, or perhaps doing something new you have never done before, or perhaps putting new energy into existing projects. It may be a new relationship, a new business, a new home…
Whatever your new is, you want to make a good start!
The secret of moving forward is to know where you are going and where you are now. All of the past cannot be changed, cannot be fixed and cannot be lived again. It is important to live a life without regret, and avoid stagnation. Moving forward requires an attitude that does not look back, like Paul in Phil 3:13:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead…”
Whenever I am encouraging someone who wants to make a new start, or even when I myself set out on a new path or new direction, there are five areas of our lives that I believe we should review to ensure they are well prepared for a new start or a new season.
I have presented all five below, but have also added additional links if you would like to work on the area more carefully.
Five Pillars to Start New
- ROUTINE: Is my routine contributing to a purposeful, meaningful daily experience? A good routine can be liberating, the comfort of a routine (structures put into place that we know are good for us) allows us to free our minds and thinking to focus on the more important matters of life, the new we are starting. It is good to do some “Routine Examination” in our lives.
- BALANCE: Do I have a balanced approach to life? Often we consider a new project without looking at our life balance and the impact it will have on our balance. If balance is avoiding extremes, have I lost balance in some areas and how will I know if I am living a balanced life? Even good things can be harmful to us if pursued in the extreme, so where in my life do I need to examine balance?
- PURPOSE: Am I living with purpose? Am I still clear about what the purpose of my life is and am I living in line with that purpose? It is so easy to start moving in a certain direction for your life and then forget why one started out in that direction. What is the purpose of the life I am living now?
- VALUES: Do
I have a personal code that I am living my life from? Often we don’t make new year resolutions, because we don’t keep those decisions. So we need to ask, am I making decisions based on what I believe is right for my life, based on my own personal code of value decisions? Do I need to revisit some areas of my life that are not moving in the direction I want them to move because that do not represent what I value? - PLANS: Finally, am I making plans for my life? There is a real temptation to not bother making plans, but failure to plan is the root cause of failure. It is important to have a plan for how we will spend our time. More importantly, am I making these plans in partnership with the Lord?
I hope these thoughts will be helpful to you as we start out new. It is important to be “circumspect” about our lives, which scripture ensures us, is a wise approach to life. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16 NKJV)
Taking the time to think about our lives is a good strategy to start the new.
Father, help me to spend time in Your presence meditating on Your purposes and ways in the world around me. Help me to consider how I am living this one life that You have given me. Help me to honestly examine my routine, balance, purpose, value decisions and plans for my own life. All of this in considering what You and I want to see in the future. Help me to build a vision and plan that is in line with the desires of Your heart. Then help me to work out the plans with all my heart, both in my words and in my actions.
If you enjoyed this post, also read:
Three Changes to Make Before Change
Four Benefits of Being Circumspect
Leave A Comment