GreatLIFE Community-
I FAILED!? As I reflect on something I set out to do at the start of 2024, I realize it didn’t go as planned, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. Having zero musical background, I set off to challenge myself in a way that was completely foreign to me, to learn the piano. I struggled right off the bat but put together a daily plan of playing the piano after I journaled every night. This worked to get me into a good routine for the first few months of the year. As a dad of two very active girls, I ran into a buzz saw when summer activities and travel started. The late nights and busyness of life gave way to putting the nightly piano playing to the side. What started as a daily routine eventually turned into three days a week, that extended to once a week and ultimately ended up being once in a while over the past few months. As I reflect on the year, this is that dreaded, “open box” on my 2024 things I set out to accomplish. For those of you like me who love the accomplishment of “checking the box”, this can, and often does, linger in my mind as a HUGE disappointment.
This is where this whole reflection thing comes into play for me. As I’m going through the year, I am reading about the daily, weekly and monthly wins from my journal. The progress isn’t evident in the moment but is real in the reflection. Even from my failure in my feeble attempt to become the next Beethoven, I can celebrate the fact that I can now play a few songs and know enough to be able to read SIMPLE songs on a page when a year ago every key looked the same and if someone were to ask me to find middle C, my first reaction was to go to my vitamin cabinet. 😊 Progress over perfection!
English and grammar have never come easy to me so the thought of writing a monthly newsletter seemed daunting. However, it has proven to be such a blessing for me to use as a means to work on being a more effective communicator, writer and story teller. I firmly believe it started several years ago when I finally gave in to the practice of daily journaling. These short, daily reflections have led to a longer, monthly article that I likely would never have done if I hadn’t started with the simple act of daily reflection. The daily reflections, make the weekly wins and subsequent monthly wins that much more fun to reflect on. As I sit here today, reflecting on the 36 biggest wins of my year, I am overcome with gratitude for an incredible year and filled with for the exciting possibilities of 2025!
LESSONS LEARNED:
With a new year starting, I thought I’d switch it up and give some suggestions of ways to journal. If you have never journaled before, I would encourage you to start SIMPLE. Answering simple questions daily may sound silly but can be extremely effective. As with starting any new habit, keep it as simple as possible make sure you have as detailed of a plan as possible on how you are going to do it.
Here are some suggestions:
- What was a kind thing you did? What was the most fun thing you did?
- What did you learn? What did you love?
- What were 3 wins for the day?
GreatLIFE UPDATE:
We have had an incredible year at GreatLIFE. I have heard more members come up and share how GreatLIFE has positively impacted them than ever before. These stories are such great reminders to the role we, at GreatLIFE, can play in providing opportunities for you to live a better, healthier, more fulfilling life. From the GreatLIFE Team, we are so grateful for each and every one of you and look forward to seeing you in 2025! For a detailed list of all the accomplishments we had as a company in 2025, please click on Tom Sr’s yearly recap HERE.
BOOK CLUB:
I hope you enjoyed this month’s book, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson as much as I did? This is on my “re-read” list for 2025 already as it had so many great points.
Here are 3 of my main takeaways:
- You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with– You are, or will become like they are. What are your conversations about? Future focused or past complaints?
- The key to success is to DOUBLE your rate of failure! As a competitive, high achiever, this thought is like nails on a chalkboard BUT the mindset is so freeing to being willing to try something new!
- The plan is never complete, it’s simply a strategy to take the first step. Once momentum has started, plan the next step to keep the momentum from there.
POSITIVE THOUGHT:
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” -Robert Collier
Cheering you on for a blessed 2025!