It’s almost time for a new DECADE?!

Sometimes I just miss things….sometimes I’m so busy dealing with the “right here” that I miss the importance of something that is coming up…..and that happened recently.  I knew it was December, and I knew we were close to a new year, and I even knew that new year was 2020, but it didn’t initially dawn on me the significance of this ending and beginning…  Although it’s the end of a year, it’s also the end of a decade, and so this new year is not just a new year, it’s the beginning of a new decade. It occurred to me the other day that those distinctions are becoming less and less a part of my daily thoughts and reflections….and I’m not really sure why.  Don’t know if it is because I am thinking less of long term things these days and more about the immediate. Maybe it’s because I am working to be present in the present instead of caught up in the future in the way I used to be. Maybe it’s because I know I’m not guaranteed anything past this breath…..whatever the reason, I just hadn’t given this transition from the old to the new decade much thought until the past couple days. 

One thing did strike me as I thought about the new year and what it might bring….my word for the year sort of jumped out at me, which is unusual.  My word for the new year is VISION. It seemed obvious as I sat and thought about the new year….it will be 2020, and when I think of “2020” I think of perfect vision (which I haven’t had in a very very long time).  There’s a lot of power in the concept of VISION. Without a clear vision, people and organizations suffer. I also believe that with a distorted vision, people and organizations also suffer. As I think back on the last decade, I realize that I lost my focus on a vision for myself, for my path, for my way.  I got caught up in the “dailies”…..at times just making it from one thing to the next, not lifting my eyes to the longer path, or even knowing what that longer path looked like. Some part of my vision was clouded by some wrong thinking about who I was, and what my strengths and talents were, and what I was created and called to do.  I think that part of our vision that forms how we see ourselves is as important as the part of vision that we usually think of that guides us to where we are going. How we see ourselves is such a vital part of how we see our calling, our path, and our destination. Those times when I didn’t see myself as capable or worthy of something, I lost focus on the overall vision for my life.   

So instead of sitting around bemoaning the fact that my vision was clouded, I decided to do something about it!  I often teach that the first step of any change is an awareness of the issue, followed by a desire to do something different.  So, how do I fix a distorted vision? Are there “corrective lenses” for my vision of myself and my life? Interestingly, the first thing that came to my mind as I thought about awareness and how to become aware was the concept of reflection….and isn’t it interesting that a “reflection” is what we see when we look in a mirror?  A few years ago I created a tool that I used with some clients to do some “visioning” work, and I pulled out the tool and reviewed and updated it to make it relevant to me today. By taking some time to look at myself, I can begin to see more clearly where I am, in relation to where I would like to be. And I can also begin the process of deciding what corrective lenses I need to change my vision to more align with what I believe I’m called and created to do.  If you’d like a copy, you can download it here -> https://miwreflectionguide.com/reflection-guide-pdf

I’m gonna take the first few days of this new decade to do the reflective work that will help me see who I am and where I’m going……to reset my vision for the days ahead.   I invite you to join me on this journey….this new decade is going to be messy and wonderful!!!