“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of my favorite poets. His writing has always inspired me ever since my Mom, an incredible high school English teacher, introduced me to him. She facilitated a love of poets and great writers and exposed me to great literature and writings at an early age. I always gravitated to the excellence of Emerson, because it led me to a place I wanted to go…a path filled with purpose and possibilities.
While paths are paved to be traversed, sometimes you need to go where there is no path and leave a trail and legacy for others to follow. As you think about this new year and new decade, you may be reflecting on what the past year and past 10 years have brought you. For some of you, it may be a past filled with incredible memories and moments. For others, it may have been one of the worst times of your life or filled with moments of indecisiveness and unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
Whatever the last year or last decade has brought you, it is time to focus on what this new year and next 10 years can bring you. It’s time to release the past and unleash the potential of the future. Here are 7 simple and practical steps you can take to make this year your best year yet leading to a better decade:
- Set goals, not wishes – If you want your goals to happen, write them down, and pursue them with passion and purpose. Don’t sit back and just wish or wait for them to happen.
- Be present, not absent – Choose to be fully engaged – heart, mind, and soul – in the moments of your life and in the relationships of your life. Unleash your talents in the world in which you live and work, making a positive impact in the lives of others and and inspiring others to do the same.
- Leverage strengths, not weaknesses – For this next year, leverage your strengths instead of focusing on improving your weaknesses. As Andy Stanley wisely said, “Your fully exploited strengths are of far greater value to your organization (i.e. your work, team, family, friends, community, etc.) than your marginally improved weaknesses.”
- Be in community, not alone – Don’t isolate yourself this year, maybe like you have done for years especially during the dark moments of your life. Choose to be in community with mentors, peers, and positive people who want the best for you and can elevate your potential and possibilities for a brighter future.
- Choose the right mindset, not the wrong mood – It is easy to stay locked in to a dreary mood, which often leads to a disillusioned state. In the new year or the next decade, realize that you have a choice about your mindset, and choose to have a mindset that embraces possibility thinking in all areas of your life.
- Be mission-minded and moment-focused – Know and believe that you have a purpose in life. It’s why you were created! You will be more engaged and more fulfilled when you approach every day being mission-minded – having a mindset that does more than just go through the motions of life but embraces each day as an opportunity to grow and make a positive impact – and moment focused – aware and focused on all of the moments in your life including the people you meet along the way.
- Be focused, not distracted – Choose to focus on each day and not be distracted by past regrets or future failures that may never happen. Choose to be you, and stay focused on the road God has given you to travel. As Emerson also wrote, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
The opportunity begins today. Leave a trail – a legacy that others will be inspired to follow for years to come.