A Clean Slate

So, 2016 has arrived, and with it is a chance to start with a clean slate.  To err is human, and we have all have made mistakes.  Some of us have made greater ones than others, but a new year is an opportunity to reflect on our past mistakes for one purpose only.  We should examine our mistakes for useful information, so that we do not repeat them.  That's it!  After that, it's time to leave them where they belong, in the past.  A new year is the time to set new goals and advance beyond our mistakes.  It is a clean slate in many ways.  This doesn't mean we are automatically forgiven by others or that we still won't suffer the consequences of our past misdeeds, but it does mean that we can, and should, approach them with a new mindset.

Too many of us, especially those of us who have made huge mistakes, tend to focus on those failures of the past.  We allow ourselves to be defined by those missteps, because society wants to define us that way.  This type of mindset can be detrimental to your success and mental health.  A new year should be about a new mindset.  It should be about, "How can I overcome the obstacles that others place in my path, because they want to pigeon-hole me according to my past?"  Most people aren't going to take the time to get to know who you really are, and they sure aren't just going to hand you opportunities.  It is up to you to develop a mindset that says, "I'm going to knock on the door over and over again until they open up.  If they still won't open up, I'm going to kick the damn door down."  That's paraphrasing the old Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips.  It means that persistence and hard work will pay off if you don't give up.  That may mean 101 applications need to be filed to land that job.  It means developing a set of goals, both personal and professional, and creating a strategy to achieve those goals.  Goals are just ideas without action, however. You must take those first few scary steps until it becomes a habit.

A new year is a clean slate to live your life according to your new strategies.  What will you do with it?  What are your goals?  How are you going to get there?  What skills and knowledge do you need to acquire to get there?  Do you have the courage to take the necessary steps or are you just going to pay lip service to it?  Don't be imprisoned by the expectations and limitations placed on your by others.  You can succeed.  Now go out and achieve it!

-Rich