So there are certain things the Intramuralist will always advocate for…
… respect…
… humility…
… growth…
… intentionality…
… each near the top of the list.
A year ago, we introduced the new year concept of picking a word — a single word.
As blogged by the self-described “regular guy,” Mike Ashcraft, on his “MyOneWord” site (with a few select edits by moi):
“I love the time between Christmas and New Year’s. Just a couple days after one holiday and a couple of days before the next, the week between gives me a chance to think about the year that was, and the year that is lies ahead.
The wonderful chaos of Christmas is behind me and there’s the proverbial ‘calm after the storm.’
What will you do with the relative calm of the next few days before work and routine begins again?
Once the presents have all been unwrapped and company has gone home, we’re great at looking ahead to next year and all the ways we want it to be different. We’re ready for a fresh start. A new wall calendar. Maybe a gym membership. Perhaps a January cleaning or organizing spree.
But what about bringing this year to a great close?
How can you finish the journey of 2017 well?
Think about this like a journey on an airplane. You take off, reach cruising altitude a few months into the year, then you can feel free to move about the cabin a while.
Soon after Christmas you hear the captain say: ‘Flight Attendants, please prepare the cabin for final approach.’ This means your trip is almost done. The journey is about to end. You are getting ready to land. But have you prepared for landing?
If you don’t intentionally land in a plane, what do you do?
You crash.
I suspect most of us just crash at the end of the year. We’re exhausted from the speed in which the year ended, and slightly dazed from the Christmas celebrations. Engines off. No preparations made for a final approach. We just shut down and crash until the new year appears.
And in our exhaustion, we fail to make time to intentionally land the year we’ve just lived.
I want to invite you to use this week a little more intentionally — not just to prepare yourself for 2018, but to bring 2017 to a close — to finish well.
For many of us, the end of one year and the beginning of the next happen in the same moment. There is a ten second count down. There are kisses and confetti, party horns and people all around us. Fun, but not a real conducive environment for reflection and stillness.
Can I suggest you schedule time in these days between the holidays to finish well in 2017?
Make an appointment with yourself. Carve some space over the next few days. Don’t just wait for the new year to begin — but rather land the plane before you take off again.
This time of year provides an incredible opportunity to look at the past and the future — without regret or fear. We just need to prepare to land.
You can find a great resource to guide you through a personal retreat here.
Finishing well is a critical part of starting strong. Maybe, this will become your favorite week as well!”
The days until the end of the year are nearly done. But let us start 2018 well… with respect for all… humbly, always… being intentional… and committed to individual growth.
Cheers, friends. And happy new year!
Respectfully…
AR