“Brothers, I do not count myself
to have attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards
the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”[1]
It’s hard to believe that 2018 has just arrived. For some it will be a time of great anticipation and for others it may be a sad time because the circumstances that one may be going through.
The New Year is one of the most significant times of the year to assess where one has come from, where they are now and where they want to go. New Year’s resolutions are great; however, studies show that more than 60 percent are forgotten the first month. Perhaps the reason is defining the difference between wishes and goals. A wish is a dream and a goal is something that is measurable. If a goal is measurable, it is achievable.
It is important to keep our eyes on where we are going and enjoy the moment. That’s why the windshield is so much larger than the rear-view mirror in our vehicles. To spend too much time looking at the past will automatically change one’s direction. I remember as a young boy watching my dad plow with an old mule. It looked so easy and so I convinced him to allow me to take over. His last instruction was, “Keep your eyes on where you’re going.” Of course, I didn’t listen and decided to look back where I’d been and the old mule sensed the change of my focus and took off across the field. Needless to say, it was the last time for me to be allowed to plow. Morale of the story—Never allow the past to cause you to lose your focus on the goal.
We cannot do much about the past, but we can use it’s a launching pad to things of which you’ve never experienced. Today is the first day of the rest of your life! “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.”[2]
One’s life consists of periods of time of which we tend to break down into three segments-past, present and future. The past is always getting larger; the present is only a transitional word for the moment and the future is getting smaller. Therefore, one should live the future with no regrets as we add to the size of our past.
Happy New Year!
