Written By: Tamara Taylor, #DearWednesday Guest Contributor
Happy New Year! I hope you are renewed, refreshed, and ready to make 20/20 your best year yet!!
This year has a built-in theme. If you haven’t figured it out, it’s VISION.
Proverbs 28:19a reads, where there is no vision, the people will perish.
So, what’s your vision? Where do you see 2020 going for you? But before you dig into that, sometimes to get where you’re going you have to know where you’ve been.
I hope you took some time to look back on 2019. What worked? What didn’t? What kind of effort did you put in? What brought you happiness? How did you spend your time? With whom did you spend your time? Did you make decisions that put you in a position to succeed? Whatever “success” looks like for you.
If you haven’t taken some time to reflect, I encourage you to take some time now. And once you’ve done that, decide what needs to be done differently because if nothing changes, nothing changes.
There are a lot of ways to get where you need to be, but I’ve narrowed down 5 that consistently work for me.
1. Set the Vision. What do you want this year to look like? Create a plan and work it. You may have to adjust it from time to time, but that’s okay. But a plan will help you avoid distractions and make time for not only what’s important, but for the things that will move you closer to your vision.
2. Be Intentional. In the corporate world there’s a buzz phrase we use in just about every meeting. That phrase is, “value added”. Does what you’re doing add value? Not only to you, but others as well. Be mindful of your actions, conversations, and how you spend your time.
3. Be Disciplined. Discipline looks like going to the gym on a rainy day. Going when your gym partner is a no show. It’s about doing things especially when you don’t feel like it or when things don’t go as planned. It’s not about perfection, but about consistency. It’s about showing up in spite of circumstances.
4. Say Yes/Say No. If you do the above, you’ll know what deserves your yes and what gets your unexplained no. If you desire to save more money, you’ll probably need to say no to dining out. You may have to say yes to taking on a second job or working a few extra hours. Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for doing either.
5. Have FUN! You’re not a robot and no one expects you to be. If more exercise is one your goals, find a type of workout that you enjoy. Don’t punish yourself with a boot camp, when Zumba is more of your jam.
I wish I could tell you that once you execute all of these things, things will go perfectly. That every morning you will get up when your alarm sounds, that you’ll meet your calorie intake without going over every day, that you’ll know where every dollar is spent, etc., but I won’t lie to you. But here’s what I can say. When you do fall short, extend yourself some grace. Acknowledge the shortcoming and move forward.
We’re not wallowing in 2020. We’re working towards all God has called us to. 2020 will be everything you work it to be!
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Tamara Charmaine Taylor is a Speaker, Life Coach and Certified group exercise fitness instructor. She is the creator of the C.H.A.R.M.E.D. Alliance, owner of Say YES! Life Coaching, and Be F.I.T. with Tam. Her life’s purpose is to help everyday women get unstuck by breaking one bad habit at a time. She firmly believes that in order to live the life you were destined to live: mind, body, & spirit, you must first uncover the masks. Her most popular project to date is the ’21-Days of Promise: a journey through some of God’s many, many promises.’ Her mission is to work with those who are ready to live the C.H.A.R.M.E.D. life and to fully know who they are, what they want, where they’re going, and how to get there.