New Year’s resolutions – 

do they ever work? Almost never. That is why we need to take a new approach. I call it the RETROSPECTIVE RESOLUTION.

Here's how it works:

1.       You determine how you want to be able respond when someone asks you on 12/31/16 “What did you accomplish this year?”  You determine this answer in 4 key areas:

SPIRITUALLY
PERSONALLY
PHYSICALLY
PROFESSIONALLY

2.       You start to live your life in 2016 as if those things are a given.
 
For me, it looks like this:

In 2016, I was able to deepen my walk with Christ by...

• Getting up consistently at 6:00am to read my Bible and pray for my day, my family, and my employees.

• Praying with my wife twice daily about our marriage, our family, and our business.

• Ending my day with my wife sharing a Bible-based daily devotion together.
  

In 2016, I brought more peace into my life and marriage by...

• Spending dinners with my wife talking and not watching TV.

• Vacationing with my wife where no cell phone would work – a cruise and the mountains with our grandchildren in a cabin.

• Focusing on my family and the needs of others instead of focusing on myself.

• Eliminating fun and scheduled, albeit excessively stressful, activities.
  

In 2016, I improved my life physically by...

• Walking with my wife 3 times a week.

• Drinking very little caffeine – by limiting my Mountain Dew to ½ a can a day.

• Going to bed consistently so I stayed rested all year long – which limited my crankiness.

In 2016, I was stretched professionally by:

• Working smarter instead of harder.

• Working less than 50 hours a week.

• Focusing my attention on clients who wanted to be helped, and not on all those who needed help, but didn’t want it.

• Investing in my employees each week by encouraging them and praying with them.

All in all, 2016 was an amazing year.  So much was accomplished, yet I feel refreshed.

What does your 2016 look like in retrospect? Plan it now.  

If you need help in this area, I can help.  Sometimes it is much easier looking at things from the outside. Feel free to email me at Jim@iWork4Him.com.

On Friday 1/1/16, we did a radio show with this whole paradigm in mind.  Listen in to the podcast '2016 – A Year in Review'.