Winding down for the wind up!

This time of year is a mixed bag for most of us. We are celebrating, pushing our worries to the back of our brains, eating more, sleeping more, and spending more. We are trying to cram every little nook and cranny of our lives with Holiday (holy day!) magic, meanwhile kicking ourselves for not enjoying the social part more. Beautiful guilt! Well, let's push aside out eggnog-haze for a moment here and think forward
As we enter the final two days of this year, let's take a look back for just a second...

• What was great about this year? (finances, relationships, spiritual growth, professional stretching, etc?)
• Not so great? (Finances, broken promises, health, battling bitterness, etc?)
• What would we change if we could... to make 2011 look better than 2010?
• What actions would be required of us? A new outlook? A new way of doing things we've done? A "tweak" of the good old way? A better support system? A "clean slate"?

Or maybe it would mean letting that "committee" that gets a vote so often in life have LESS of a voice, or no voice at all! If we think about it, we am not beholden to most of the people who "vote" on our life anyway. I look around and see friends, families, and co-workers struggling with the same issues... when we take roll and think through an issue, are we sabotaging the best solutions because of what others might think? Are we so worried about the approval of someone-- maybe even someone we don't even like that much if we tell the truth-- that we submarine the right course of action for a safer one?

This week for me is a week of reflection, celebration new,  mourning losses, and mobilization to get to the next place. God gave each of us a purpose... and if we don't want to spend one moment choosing less than living in that purpose, what does that mean?

For me: growth means I don't just look at the good, bad, and ugly and make a set of resounding "declarations" to change. It means that I write out the details of what steps must happen to get me to my desired end result. (And that includes character and personality traits to evaluate for improvement.) It means I pull out a year+ calendar and write in the things I want to have time for (family, friends, traditions, playtime,  celebrations, vacations and some work time too!). Then I block out time by  day, week, month for the actions I will be implementing. I used this approach last year and saw tremendous results! Despite health issues for my child and myself, the challenge of having two entrepreneurs under the same roof, renovations and lightening-quick sale of our home (21 days from start to finish!), followed by a short-term move into an apartment, followed by house-shopping.... phew! I am tired! But I look back, and while there are improvements to make, I am pretty excited about what I see.

I stuck to my plan. Bounced back and adapted after set-backs... and experienced explosive growth in every part of my life. I am choosing to commit to this plan again this coming new year. I fully expect and embrace the challenges and growth that is coming! TGBG!

So, talk to me about what you want to see in 2011. What do you want to look back on in December next year? What will it take to get there? Let's talk!