Happy New Year!
I want to remind you that life is a journey. It is more of a marathon than a sprint. So it is important to pace yourself so that you don’t get tired and lose focus.
You have to start living in 2023. The year 2022 is gone and will not come back again. So, you must let by gone be by gone. You have 365 days ahead of you that you should feature in. If you don’t let go of 2022, you won’t be able to make the most of 2023. Here are some suggestions I want you to take to heart…
Be patient: Patience is key to living well in 2023. It is the ability to wait or continue doing something despite difficulties with a positive attitude. As you go through each day, you must take it easy. Life is a process. So, be patient with yourself and the process. If you are impatient, you will waste things unknowingly.
Live one day at a time: For you to get the best of this year, you must learn to take it a day at a time. If you do this, you will not complicate things, overload, or overburden yourself with too many tasks. God has given you grace for many things but not the grace to live two days at a time. You are designed to live one day at a time no more no less. Anxiety exists when we tend to live two days at a time. You can plan, but live daily.
Living in the moment helps you to free your time to do what is needed per time. You will travel faster if you learn to live one day at a time. You must be willing to unwrap the gift of each day that has been entrusted to you.
Keep your focus: To make the most of this year, you must learn to keep the most important thing as the most important thing. Have you decided what is important to you this year? Have you made up your mind about what you want to focus on this year? As you keep your focus, you will realize that you can sort things out faster. Focus helps you break difficult tasks into smaller ones. It also helps you to decide what you need to pay closer attention to and what you must defer or delegate.
If you don’t let go of 2022, you won’t be able to make the most of 2023.
Pursue purpose: The purpose of a thing is why the thing exists. There is a reason for this year and you ought to find it if you want to make the best of it. There is a reason for the time you have, the resources that have been provided, and the relationship that you have. You must discover your purpose and pursue it single-mindedly.
Invest in your relationships: As you journey into this year, I want to remind you to invest in and protect the relationships you deem very important to you. Not every relationship you have is of equal importance and every relationship should be treated according to how important it is to you.
You must invest in your relationship with God first and foremost. He is your God, source, helper, and support system. He knows how to help you make the most of this year. Your relationship with God should be based on trust. He wants you to trust Him. To trust God is to rely on Him.
Not every relationship you have is of equal importance
You must also develop a relationship with yourself. You need to love yourself and learn the power of self-discipline. You must also appreciate the need for self-development. The development of your relationship with yourself helps you to know your strength, weakness, and interests. As you know yourself, you can be patient with yourself and not allow others to put unreasonable and unhealthy expectation on you.
Be honest with yourself
One of the best gifts you can give yourself is to be honest with yourself. Unfortunately, some people are not honest with themselves instead they are living in self-deception and they end up sabotaging themselves. If you are not honest with yourself, you will soon lose your self-respect and that of others. Don’t bite more than you can chew and learn to say no.
Your must also learn to develop your relationship with others. God uses people to lift people. Be observant. Watch out for and be able to differentiate between those who are with you, for you and against you so that you don’t become a victim of your circumstance. Please remember that not everyone has been sent to help and support you. Keep an open mind so that you don’t end up living in bitterness and unforgiveness.
Understand that people are not your source, God is
Understand that people are not your source, God is. However, God can use them to resource you. It is important to be honest with others in the process and learn the place of respect.
I pray that God will help you to make the most of this year. You will not be stranded. God will also fulfil all your counsel and help you not to waste any moment or resources in Jesus’ name.