Begin as you mean to go on. That was sage advice given to me many years ago as I became a new mom. That phrase comes to mind every time I begin something new, and today as I begin 2011, it is coming to mind again. Begin as you mean to go on.
Simply put, do what it is you want to do all the way through from the very beginning. Many people often think “let’s just get started, and we’ll add in those other things later.” That is fine, but not the best way. Why? Because as much as we mean to, we rarely add in those other good practices later. Life gets in the way. We get busy, someone gets sick, other great ideas come up, new projects begin, or we simply forget. We mean well, but it rarely happens.
On the other hand, don’t overdo it as well. We often are like kids, with eyes bigger than our plates. We go decide we’re going to do all of the best practices, overloading ourselves and asking of nothing less than sheer perfection plus another 50% on top of that. It isn’t reasonable, nor attainable.
The goal then is to be reasonable, to determine what it is that will stretch you, but that is a reasonable goal you could attain. Then begin the year or the project as you would like to go on till the finish. What are the best practices you’d like to implement and do? Go for those. This is the best plan for success in the long run!
For 2011, I have eyes that are bigger than my plate, so I’m scaling it back a bit. One of my biggest regrets of 2010 was that I was so busy that I didn’t spend as much time in the bible as I normally like to do. I can see the effects in my stress levels. So in 2011 I’m attempting a 365 day blogging project: Proverb of the Day. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, enough for one chapter a day every single month. They are full of God’s wisdom for the best practices in living life. Proverbs are great for day to day living dilemmas and stresses, as they will come to mind in the moment to help you make good decisions. Within that, my goal is to blog daily about one verse from within the day’s reading from Proverbs. Day 1 is coming up next!
Beyond Proverbs 365, I also have a goal of becoming more organized around my home. Decluttering and organizing storage spaces will also be a daily project. If I take it in small bites, it won’t be so gargantuan of a task!
So, do you have any big goals in 2011?
