Thomas McDaniels: Want 2020 to be epic? Here's the secret formula for what you've gotta do this year
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chess players know it’s all about position. Every piece has a position and every move you make has implications on the outcome of the game.
Every move is vital.
And so, goes life. Where are you going? Do you know?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GENEROSITY WON'T MAKE YOU WEALTHY, BUT HERE IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Baseball great Yogi Berra once said:
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}How true is that? Some people allow life to order their steps and others step toward the life they designed.
The best life is the designed life. We design our lives by discovering our passions and reaching for them. This requires introspection, sacrifice, and risk-taking.
Again, putting yourself in the right position.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}We must position ourselves to gain the most from our experience. Let’s challenge ourselves to get in a position to experience the most productive year of our lives.
To experience the Dallas Mavericks game, we must choose to purchase a ticket and enter the stadium where the game is being played. Some people buy a ticket and stand in the vending area and never position themselves to experience the actual game. What is that about?
If you choose to stand in the hallway, you can hear the game, but you will not experience the actual game. Have you ever noticed people in a venue that hang around the bathrooms or just wander around?
We must position ourselves to gain the most from our experience. Let’s challenge ourselves to get in a position to experience the most productive year of our lives.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Opportunity is everywhere. Even the worst of places. The worst places offer us the best opportunities. The needed change is obvious in the not so good places.
Here are a few ways to get in position for 2020.
Let go of the past
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is challenging for most.
Medium's Niklas Goke says:
“We all keep past versions of ourselves in a closet somewhere, and every time we open it, we feel pain and suffering We can’t change the people we once were, but we can make peace with them. Open the closet and let in some light. Reconcile. Otherwise, our past will forever be a drag on our heels.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}How often have we experienced the drag of the past with the wind behind our back? Rather than live in the present and plan our future, we pay too much attention to our former days. This is a thief of our future.
The best life is the designed life. We design our lives by discovering our passions and reaching for them. This requires introspection, sacrifice, and risk-taking.
Our best life is always in front of us. Have you ever met a person who is a victim of their past?
The former hurts are real, and the pain merited, but to stay in disappointments of the past cripples our progress.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}We cannot allow our past experiences to be the mold that forms our future. It is not our experiences that shape us; It is our response to them. Despite thinking otherwise, healthy people are never exempt from difficult circumstances and bad experiences.
Writer, author and teacher Ayodeji Awosika says:
“Life throws a lot of negativity at you. If you try to pretend, it doesn’t exist and force yourself to 'think positive' you will never address the root cause of your discontent in a useful way.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Negative emotions are signals that something is wrong. Often, negative emotions are signaling you to act. To be better. To find a different path.
Instead of ignoring negative emotions — they’re not going away soon — why not use them to your advantage?
We must use the negativity of the past to our advantage. This is not a suggestion but a demand. A demand that only you can demand of yourself. Without it, we will repeat the former years.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More from Opinion
It’s never easy
You never just find yourself in the perfect position. It’s rare. We work our way there. And we work hard. Real hard.
Yes, there are breaks along the way. Yes, we gather some luck. I call it favor. And yes, providence plays a role. But we rarely see a great opportunity open to us without positioning ourselves in some manner.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Success occurs where preparation meets opportunity.
And that is nothing but true.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Step back to step up
Every time a bigger opportunity is in front of you, it requires a sacrifice. For instance, most people sacrifice a full-time salary and benefits to go freelance or chase entrepreneurship.
This means the sacrifice of security and embracing the unknown. Many just cannot do this.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It’s called risk. The biggest risk is the failure of not taking any risk.
And it requires faith.
Christians place their faith in Christ-the belief that God has big plans for their lives.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV)
Yes, God has thoughts about us. In those thoughts, God orders our future. God also orders our steps and positions us for His work on the earth.
Faith-filled believers align their daily lives to God’s fullest purpose.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Let’s do it.
Put the past behind you, realize it’s never easy, and be willing to take a risk.
2020 is before us and so is the opportunity for your best year ever.
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Align your heart to God’s purpose and watch what He will do.
Thank you for reading this post. You can find additional articles on my website.