It always amazes me how fast time flies and how quick Christmas seems to come each year. I will never forget my dad saying when he was in his 80's that it felt like he was having two birthdays each year. Time seems to fly by and here we are facing another Christmas and a New Year. 2016 WOW! Here we are.

 

Jerry & Libby with Grandkids

Every year at this time I take some time for reflection and review the past year as I begin to anticipate the coming year. I have developed habits for ending each year and beginning the next year. I do not wait until the end of the year to begin considering what God might be asking from me the coming year. In fact, each October I work on three key goals for the next year and one major personal goal. In my mind I process and work on those goals and think of them through the latter part of each year.

 

But, when it gets to December 15 or so, I begin to reminisce of how the past year has gone and evaluate my accomplishments and mistakes. I do not focus on the past too much, but I do celebrate the many small or great accomplishments that I have had. I write out the things I believe to be accomplishments so that I can celebrate Jesus and His goodness. I also take a look at a few goals that I did not reach and consider how I might improve.

Santa Jerry

 

I just received an email from Michael Hyatt entitled, "Achieve What Matters in 2016". It lists eight strategies that super successful people are using now to accomplish more next year. I thought it was so interesting as I read to realize that I had practiced some of these strategies, but could work on a few of the others.

 

Let me mention these to you and hopefully they will be of some help to you.

 

1. Reflect on the past year. The first thing high achievers do to set themselves up for a great year is review the current one. John Maxwell says, "Evaluated reflection turns experience into insight."

 

2. Stay Positive. High achievers also work to stay positive as they lean into the new year. Jon Acuff said, "It's good to learn from the year you just lived, but if you stare at it too long, regret over the opportunities you missed or mistakes you made will blossom."

 

3. Express Gratitude. Expressing gratitude has always been a tool that successful people use to stay positive and to keep their hearts right about the fact that it is always a team that makes things happen, not one person. Being grateful and sharing it is key.

 

4. Eliminate the Excess. When you have reflected on the past, it allows you to identify some of the things you want to cut out of your life. Time thieves, habits that don't contribute to your personal and spiritual growth and other things that you recognize need to go.

 

5. Set Compelling Goals. No one who accomplishes much in a year does it without goals. Clear vision of where you want to go and what you would like to accomplish helps to set the boundaries of your work. Our GTC strategies have kept us focused on what we are as an organization called to do. If we stay focused on those goals and the end result, we will always win. Life offers so many distractions and we as leaders have a real challenge discerning what we will commit our time and money towards. There are so many good things that distract us from God's best for us.

 

6. Break it Down. When you set goals it is important to break them down into manageable tasks and initiatives. Seeing the mission in miniature makes it manageable.

 

7. Schedule the Year. Once you break down the goals into a manageable size task, you then need to schedule them. Amy Porterfied says, "Seeing the big picture in advance allows you to work with more purpose throughout the year." Again, seeing where you want to go always allows you to identify the distractors from those goals. When things come up that seem like good ideas, you have to ask yourself if doing this will get you closer to your goals.

 

8.Unplug for a time. Plan some off each year and hold to it. I cannot tell you how many leaders I have spoken to that will cancel their time away and keep working because there is so much to do. There will always be more to do than you will ever accomplish and you will do less with less efficiency if you are exhausted. I take the last two weeks of each year to try and rest, spend time with family and get prepared for the coming year.

 

I believe that these strategies are important for each of us as leaders to consider. I am not saying you should do each of these as stated, but simply realize that these strategies are being systematically utilized by some of the greatest spiritual leaders in our day. I believe we must be disciplined in our approach and we must be clear on our dream if we are to accomplish what we believe God is asking us to do.

 

If we truly believe God wants us to Put Hope within Reach of Every Addict and if we are to accomplish this it will take some significant effort by us all. We each own some responsibility for reaching the drug addicts in our region of the world. Why not take some time to consider how you might reach the most hopeless, those who are addicted and functioning and those at risk.

 

May God help us reach more with the Good News of His birth and may you have a joyous holiday season as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

 

 

Jerry Nance PhD

President

Global Teen Challenge

 

(Excerpts taken from Achieve What Matters in 2016: 8 Strategies Super-Successful People Are Using Now to Accomplish More Next Year, by Michael Hyatt, 2016 Intentional Leadership.)