It’s all about the start.
Jump start. Kick start. Fresh start. Late start. Running start. Starting now. Just start somehow.
Whether it’s breakfast to start your day, Monday to start your week, or January to start your year, there’s always a chance to start fresh. To begin a new chapter. And every new chapter begins with a word.
My word for this 2013 chapter of life is “Grow”.
Last year was a year of change and starting anew. We moved. Made a career change. Launched two new businesses. Enrolled our children in a charter school instead of homeschooling again. It was the year of planting seeds.
And now 2013 will be the year to watch those seeds grow.
A year of watching my kids grow. Our businesses grow. My marriage grow. I want firm roots so that when a storm comes, we’re not easily toppled or uprooted.
An important part of the growing process is pruning. It’s time-consuming and sometimes painful. But pruning forces the evaluation of each branch in order to decide which ones stay and which ones go. It’s cutting away the old in order to make room for the new.
When the pruning is done, it’s easy to feel a little bare in the absence of all the branches that were taking up space. But pruning must happen in order to bear more fruit. It forces the plant to focus on growing a stronger root system. And it creates space for what is yet to come.
Every January I take time to evaluate my branches and decide which ones need pruning. This year I’m getting radical. It’s time to minimize distractions and the time-eaters that fritter away my productivity. Being over-committed is so last year. This is the year of giving 100% to select priorities rather than 10% to ten different non-priorities. This is the year of saying no to all the good things in order to have the freedom to say yes to some truly great things.
It’s January 2, 2013.
A fresh start. The beginning of a new chapter. A perfect opportunity to do some pruning in order to make room for future fruit. A year marked for growth.
And ultimately, a harvest.
Let’s get started.
what lovely thoughts for the new year. has me pondering now. thanks