There’s something powerful about standing at the beginning of a new year; like a painter with a fresh canvas, or in the landscape world, a brand new yard just waiting for the landscape to take shape! For me, a chance to start something fresh is powerful!
But consider this: In my earlier days of landscapes, the first look at a new outdoor space was somewhat intimidating to me. Or taking over a new maintenance client that had been left in somewhat good shape prior, and we had to maintain the already created beauty made me nervous that we might not do a good enough job to make the client happy. Where today, there’s nothing more exciting than a fresh canvas. Or to go even deeper, bringing on a new team member that was going to add tremendous value to our organization was almost overwhelming and kind of stressful, so I would look for reasons to keep around somewhat toxic employees. Or to make it more personal, I would even do this with some toxic friendships. Where now, the thought of cultivating fresh talent, adding character based highly talented team members that will take our Team to the next level, and creating more reciprocating value friendships, are all part of what I seek each and every day! Why was that? I loved our work, and I wanted to grow our Team, and I wanted to hang around great people… It was because fear of the future and change is a natural response for someone who has no experiences to gain wisdom and insight on from the past.
Confidence and wisdom comes from daily growth and evaluating past experience. As we begin to paint on the canvas of the year 2023, I want to encourage you: remember what’s behind you so you can prepare for what’s ahead of you.
We can’t grow in the new year unless we learned from our experiences. The key thing to remember is to learn from the past without steadily looking back and living in it.
Albert Einstein said “The future is an unknown, but a somewhat predictable unknown. To look to the future we must first look back upon the past. That is where the seeds of the future were planted.”
I want to encourage you this week if you haven’t yet to set aside some intentional time to look back on last year! Ask yourself three questions.
- Where was I at in my life and leadership journey a year ago?
- Where am I at as I kick off the new year?
- Where do I want to be one year from now?
To help you with these questions, take a moment to go over some reflection. When you are able to apply insights from your past to your current season, your future will be brighter and more clear.
As you begin your resolutions, goals, and changes in this new year, I want to encourage you to let the insights from your past inform the goals for your future. This will give you a greater level of confidence, which will lead to greater success. Or even better yet, will lead to a future of significance! Remember this – Consistency towards growth compounds my amigos. Whether we’re talking about leadership legacy or a simple new year’s resolution to get in to better health and wellness. No matter what your plans for this year, I encourage you to dream big and stay committed. You’ll love what develops within you along the way.
I believe we will be better tomorrow if we learn from yesterday. Here’s to making 2023 an incredible year!