You Can Design Your 2021 Right Now!

2020 so punched a hole in so many of our plans that we hardly want to get started on planning 2021!

It is true that we must live from day to day.  Life throws us changes and curveballs.  How can a person plan when it already feels like a waste of time in the New Year?

“Right thinking brings the right planning.  Right planning brings the right actions.”

Let’s walk through a few actions you can take in 2021 to end the year with a gratified result:

1. You can’t let one year discourage you from the next.

   I’m sure you had some disappointments this year in terms of results.  Is that enough to keep you “stuck back in 2020” for the rest of your life?

   I’ve decided to move on.  Perhaps my goals were wrong, too ambitious.  Perhaps the obstacles made them impossible to reach.  

   The point is this:  Don’t let failures stop you for one minute of 2021.

2. Decide what changes are now normal after 2020.

   I can’t live like Zoom is a fad that is going away.  It is here to stay.  It is the new normal.  What are you going to do to get on top of that game?

   Church attendance is not going to return to full strength for perhaps quite a few more months.  What will I do to engage with other believers in a more meaningful way?

   Travel, conferences, vacations may have shifted to more personal, intimate outdoor trips together as a couple or family.  Should family vacations be shorter and more frequent in 2021?

3. My knowledge must stretch in order for my thinking to change.

   I have to expose myself to new knowledge and thinking in 2021.  

   The books I have read, the podcasts and books I have listened to, now need to fall away as others take their place.

   Spend this week filling out your 2021 calendar with the books you choose to read.  I have filled mine out already and even started reading some of them in December to get a jump start on 2021.

4. What are some things that really wasted my time in 2020?

   Hobbies are good, but hours and hours spent on certain things produce very little change.  Some hobbies require massive finances and effort in order to have a small result.

   Get brutally honest right now with every effort you are engaged in.  Find your time and resource wasters.  Could a simple outdoor hobby with family yield more results for physical exercise and endurance?

5. Settle on a Bible reading plan and devotional track for 2021.

   Melanie and I have been reading the “McCheyne” Bible reading plan now for the past five or so years.  It was written by an old Scottish pastor and has stood the test of time.  Your devotional life is the most important decision you will make for 2021.

I know 2020 was a wild year.  It’s over.  You can’t go backward.  Let’s stretch up, rise up, grow up, and charge the hill again with a new focus for 2021!