On December 29th, 2009 Michael Hyatt posted a very thought provoking article on processing what the last year has contained. You can read it here. The gist is that there are 7 questions you should
ask yourself about the last year. This post is my attempt to process these questions for myself personally. I will also be blogging about this from a business perspective as well, head on over to the TwoMilesSolutions.com blog to check it out. I will be doing resolution/goal setting posts next week, but here is a look back.
- If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
I would have to say adventure. My second child was born this year and it was a year of learning a lot of different lessons. We never knew what was around the corner, but God always came through. - What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
– Gaining a deeper understanding…this was a year of understanding myself, my wife, my son, and my business better.
– Survival of the Fittest…as most of you know this was a tough year economically for a lot of people because of the recession, but we made it through, sometimes just by the grace of God, but He always provided. - What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
Along with raising a great boy, having a great marriage to a wonderful woman, and the birth of my second child, I also became the Director of SERVOLUTION (coordinate service ministries for the church) at Metro Believers Church. This was a huge thing for me as I love to serve and now we are able to put a focused effort on service in our church. - What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
This one is a personal question that I don’t feel I should post for the world to see. - What disappointments or regrets did you experience this last year?
From a personal perspective (see my business blog for my business answer), I am mostly disappointed in myself for the amount of time I didn’t spend with my family and focusing on my weight loss goals that I have set for the past few years. This is mainly due to the work schedule that I keep (it is a regular occurrence for me to work until 2 am.) I make it a point to always have dinner with my family and spend time after dinner with them, but I want to work towards more time with them and there are things in the works that will help get me to that point. - What was missing from last year as you look back?
This could probably go in the disappointments question as well, but I missed a lot of good quality quiet time with the Word this last year. Along with time missed with my family, I should have spent more time in the Word. - What were major life-lessons you learned this past year?
– When with your family, you need to disconnect from the office. This is a huge thing for me given that I work from home. What this means for me is that sometimes I leave my cell phone in my office so that I am not checking my email at the dinner table.
– Sometimes you just need a break. As much as I would like to think that I am superman, I am not, sometimes I just need to stop and relax.
Hopefully, you found this post insightful, I would recommend doing the same as you get ready to start the new year and set goals for the upcoming year. You can’t figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.