Maybe 2020 kicked you in the teeth a couple times. I know it did most people. Many challenges in 2020 created new seasons in life that don’t necessarily coincide with the changing of the calendar. In the midst of the challenging circumstances of 2021 or whatever new season you are walking into, life is full of potential. Whether the New Year brought you a truly new season of life or something else did, there are four strategic things you can do to MAKE the most out of it.
- Make Peace With Your Past.
- Take time to allow yourself to feel and express your emotions about the difficult things you have endured but don’t get stuck there.
- Invite God into your emotions and circumstances and ask Him to reveal His truth to you about them. Our emotions can be misleading when left unchecked.
- Choose to be at peace with the hard stuff. You probably can’t change it, you can only change how you respond to it.
- Don’t allow bitterness or comparison rob you of your potential or the good that can come from challenges. Difficult seasons stretch and grow us and allow us to become better people if we allow them to.
2. Adopt a Plan.
- Adopt in this sense means to choose to take up, follow or use. You can either create a plan of your own or find one someone else is using that will work for you but you must move beyond “having a plan” to actually using a plan.
- Use your hopes and dreams to create big picture goals, an overview of what you would like to accomplish in the next season you are facing.
- Purpose to put your plan into action and move forward in your journey.
3. Keep Going.
- Once you have formulated and adopted a plan, keep going. What are the next steps you need to take to reach those big picture goals?
- Get down to the nitty gritty of what it’s going to take and outline the steps you’ll need to take in order to accomplish the successful completion of your plan.
- Consider the obstacles. are there people, habits or activities in your life you need to remove from your routine to reach your goals? Are there tools like education or skills you need to add to make progress? Create an inventory of the things you need to do to set you up for progress.
4. Enlist Help.
- You were created for relationships. Find a friend, mentor, pastor, or coach that can help you move forward.
- Choose people you whole heartedly trust and give them permission to ask you hard questions when needed.
- Be open to the accountability and advice you have asked for, it’s meant to make you better and help you tackle the mindsets that will keep you stuck.
Our prayer for you is that you will walk forward into life purposefully and with hope knowing that God is for you. We encourage you to take a look at Jeremiah 29:4 – 11 and contemplate these questions:
- What circumstances are the people God is speaking to facing?
- What is God encouraging them to do while they are in the midst of their circumstances?
- As you read these verses, what insight do you gain about your own life.
Remember, we are here for you! If you need help with any of these strategies, please leave a comment or send us an email about any questions you may have. We’d love to chat with you sometime.
Blessings,
Cherry
