Time is on your side

It’s 2015. What Will You Do With Your 525,600 Minutes?

Right around December 15th, two things become apparent to most people: Christmas is less than two weeks away and the New Year is right around the corner. As the holidays pass, the New Year countdown picks up speed. Then, on December 31st at the stroke of midnight, we get to see the New Year ring in with its breath of possibilities. In full swing, every January 1st offers a reality that we’re still here and have fortunately received the greatest gift of all – Life. Then it asks: What do you want to see happen this year? What’s next? Or better yet, what will you choose to do with the gift you’ve been given?

Though each question is different, they hold an underlined premise in common – the concept of Choice. When you think about it, Life is a Gift; a gift received in the dawning of each new day. Living is a Choice! How you live is where your choice takes center stage. With 525,600 minutes offered in 2015, you have 525,600 opportunities to Do Your Life and make choices that celebrate the life you’ve been given. Whether you choose to sit behind the driver’s seat, throw your hands up, or stand on the sidelines of your own life in 2015, that’s just it – It’s Your Choice! What will you choose this year? Are you ready for Your Best Year Yet? Below are seven principles to maximize the minutes that remain and seize the opportunities coming your way this year!

Abandon Resistance, Choose to Surrender

So here’s the thing. Resistance is often the chosen defense against fear of the unknown in an attempt to maintain a comfort zone even when all signs point toward change. If your conversations are summed up with “I can’t,” “it can’t,” “why,” “it won’t,” “I won’t,” and “it’s not feasible,” it’s time to practice the art of surrender. Why? Your resistance is actively repelling good things and good people from you. Your new option: Instead of pushing against the tide to the point of exhaustion, go with it. Surrender is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. It takes a great deal of courage to accept an invitation to move with a flow that’s positioned for you but not controlled by you.

Commit to Your Vision and Your Team

What have you identified as spiritual, physical, emotional, professional, financial, and relational targets this year? What do you see as the leader of your life, brand, household, spiritual pursuits, health, etc. Is it clear? Does it have your full commitment; or do your waffle between being a member of your own team and being an honorary member of Team Naysayer? More than anything your vision needs your genuine support. There’s absolutely no utility in you being a naysayer by infusing doubt and sabotaging like energy into your vision. Decide what you want, visualize it, and give it your best shot in mind, body, and spirit. The person who sees a hopeless future and the one who sees a hope-filled future are both right. Why? Perspective is everything. Remember, winners start by believing in the win and use their effort to help move their belief to a manifested reality. What’s your vision for 2015? Write it. Believe it. Commit to it. Work towards it and watch what happens.

Confidence Is Welcomed, Self-Doubt Uninvited

If you’ve decided you’re unworthy, a failure, not good enough, too old or unforgivable – you may be worse than the haters you talk about. Yes, you too can be a hater in a different form – a self-hater. So let’s cut to the chase. What fortune has thinking the worst of yourself brought you? If your answer matches mine, it’s time to have your internal critic card revoked. You are not your past. You are not your story. And you can’t define what has already been defined by its creator. Once good, always good, even if you represent yourself in negative ways. That said, what if you chose to move with a full acceptance that nothing and no one could change that original definition, not even you? What if you chose to live, breathe, and make decisions under a banner of confidence that said “good” versus “not good enough”? What if you moved through 2015 committed to the alignment of your self-view assuming the identity of who God said you were? Moving from this stance of confidence, how many minutes could you save versus waste on acts of self-sabotage this year?

Less Talk, More Action

No more talking! Okay, how about a lot less talking and a lot more movement. Yes, we have over half a million minutes at our disposal this year, but that won’t matter if most of it is spent talking about what you’re going to do versus actually doing it. Simply, if you’re talking a fourth of the time at least three fourths of your energy should be spent on action that manifests tangible evidence. Talking won’t move you from point a to point b; movement will. Are you willing to commit to being productive? Will you combat fear by moving, despite its attempts to paralyze you? Are you invested in doing the work? It’s a new year and you have fewer minutes than you had 5 minutes ago. It’s your move; make it count.

Don’t Rest on Your Gifts, Cultivate Them

Everyone has a gift and some have two or more. However, when you choose to cultivate what comes naturally, you’re granted more opportunities to use it in more meaningful ways. Moving your gifts toward mastery is a huge step in doing your life on and within purpose. This year it will be up to you to commit to spending time committed to doing your life as only you can versus seeking to imitate or duplicate the lives of others. Moving within your gift is a great way to help ensure you remain on your customized path. Though the choice to not just acknowledge but hone and cultivate your gift requires discipline and sacrifice, it’s time well spent. The return on investment is often the ability to affect more people and promote a greater good. That alone can make this year better than the last.

Clean House and Evacuate All Impostors

Look around; who do you see? Who is good to you and good for you? Are you surrounded by “yes” people? Are there people wearing the “friend” label, when it should clearly say something else? Are you carrying people who represent dead weight? Are the people closest to you dream builders or dream killers? Do you know who really has your back? Your answers are more important than you may think because impostors devour your time. In fact, if you take a look at your friends, you can get a quick snapshot of your own future through their portrait. If what you see is unimpressive, it’s time to do some cleaning. When you no longer respect a person’s decision-making ability, question their intentions toward you, have doubts about their character, and/or have evidence that they’re on a path of self-destruction. You should question whether or not you’re still walking together in the name of friendship or time served. Remember, chickens will never do well in an eagles flight pattern. And there’s no need to spend 2015 avoiding what you denied as truth in 2014.

Have Fun! Yes, Fun!!!

It may be basic, but the best things in life often are fun. It’s your job to be intentional about your joy. Smile as much as you can. Laugh until you cry. Make memories that count. Love your life with passion. And choose to love authentically. Here’s the thing. If you can’t see the power of gratitude, you’ll miss the power of each minute. Connecting with what makes you feel alive is a valuable part of the deal. Be yourself, keep it simple, see through the eyes of the innocent, and love like there will be no tomorrow. If you do, I think you might just get to this time next year with one resounding thought about 2015: Well Done!