We’re well underway with 2021.
Every year Ali and I conduct an exercise where we picture what our vision of success would be, for the year ahead.
Arguably, this is the most Most Important exercise we do every year! Because guess what, 2021 will fly by. Just Like 2020 did. And every year before that. This time next year it WILL be 2022.
Huh, did the year go by? What just happened? What did I do this year? What did I not do? Oh, if I could just have some of that time back!
The more intentional I am about my future, the greater chances I have of achieving it.
And honestly, the point of the Process is not really to achieve our goals at the end of the time period. If the universe is in our favour, sure we may hit all the goals. Maybe we will hit some. Or maybe none of them. But so what?
The true purpose of the process is the person one becomes at the end, whether one hits their goals or not.
It’s like the Story of The Man and The Rock:
The Lord told a man he had work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of the man’s cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many months he toiled from sun up to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night, the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. You are never going to be able to move it.†These thoughts began to discourage and dishearten the man even more. In the midst of battling discouragement, the man decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,†he said, “I have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a centimetre. I am failing You.†To this the Lord responded compassionately: “My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and sturdy, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition, you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But, son, I did not ask you to move the rock. I simply asked you to push. It is my job to move the rock."
If you have not yet completed your vision for 2021. Do it today!
Ali has detailed out the process in the blog post below. It’s just a sit-down-self-exploration exercise where we reflect on how our year has gone in the hope that we gain insights to improve the next.
If you’re short of time, at the Bare Minimum, open a document and type answers to the following questions:
The bare-minimum questions:
- When have you felt proud of yourself in 2020? what were you doing?
- What have been your disappointments?
- What have been the life lessons this year?
- What is your vision of Success in 2021?