Welcoming Week For 2011

Maybe we could consider calling the last week of December, 'Welcome Week,' for we're about to welcome a new year into our lives.  Welcome week or the week of reassessment sounds good to me. We go through the whole month of December preparing for the great celebration of Christmas and before one  knows  its come and gone.  It could be that we should be adopting the philosophy of the converted to goodness Scrooge,  who learned to observe the spirit of Christmas giving the whole 365 days  a year. That would mean of course that everyday would be like Christmas! 

 

Might I suggest however that the kind Scrooge would still believe in the logic of a good business plan. Instead of just giving his last dime to the poor don't you think he'd probably put a high priority in educating people as well? We've all heard that you can give a poor man a fish but ultimately the real solution is to teach him how to fish for himself and that my friends is what I think Scrooge would have done. Oh yes, he would have gone around saying, "Happy New Year!" but I'm convinced he would have tried to instill within friends and neighbours, prudent and  wise ways of thinking so they'd have a hope of really bringing about a Happy New Year, as much as possible by design.

I wonder therefore if the last week of December might rightly be considered the most exciting time of the year!  Always its been known for a time for the setting of goals and hopes for the year ahead. The thing that comes to mind when thinking about this week is a ski-jump leading to its launch at the end. The question is though,  are we ready for the jump and have we thought to prepare or do we rather go flopping off the end of the ramp on Dec 31 and say to one another. "Happy New Year!" Yes January 1st has always been considered a day for New Years resolutions--it's a fresh start or considered  a brand new page.

If we were to project a vision ahead, where exactly would we like to be a month from now, three or even six?  A year from now will we look back with regrets knowing we didn't make good use of our time?  I would surely hope not for that alone would be the definition  regrets. For certain in developing a plan many adjustments might be made along the way but walking through what you've laid down, one stage at a time allows one to mark their progress and provides a sense of achievement however small each day. "Well keeping New Years resolutions just doesn't work!" I can hear somebody say.  Admittedly it's a challenge to follow through to accomplishment but lets look in the mirror and ask the most difficult question....are we at times allowing the good things of life to rob us of the best things?

Do we spend an excessive amount of time on useless  frivolities which if we're honest  we'd consider shelving, or at least showing more balance and perspective in the time we allot  such things?  I recall an inspirational message on the 'Three D's', desire, discipline and delight. We all for sure want to experience the third D, delight. Nothing would delight us more then to see the realization of our hopes and dreams but to get to the third D, one most go through the way of the the second and that's DISCIPLINE.

Where again do we want to be one, three or even six months from now? What is the plan we're implementing having it laid out stage by stage to get there? Could it be that invariably some negative things might happen in 2011?  Perhaps.  You'll recall that Dickens not only wrote 'The Christmas Story' about Scrooge, but also the "Tale Of Two Cities' where he talked about the state of things in time, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...."

In so far as it applies to us how about we be known as ones at least seeking to apply well thought out plans? Wouldn't that at least give us the best chance at experiencing the Happy New Year one and all are going to be wishing for us in the days ahead?  There was one last thing I was wanting to say...Oh yeah.....HAPPY NEW YEAR AND I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST!!! LOL :))))