How To Be Successful in 2015

1-56pm

More than 7 months have passed since I stopped regular work and started freelancing. My regular routine changed.  I had more time and I feel I have finally got to the point where one of my main goals is beginning to be achieved. Clean up the house!  It was about 10 years of neglect – too much gathering – not enough getting rid of.  Never really getting to a total spring clean.  I literally wanted to move out – empty the entire house – get rid of all the excess and move back in again, but of course that wasn’t going to be practical. I wanted the job to happen quickly but with Mike working long hours, I knew it was not going to happen overnight. And, if it was to be, it was up to me!

Mavis and I

Today, Mavis returned to work after a month away. She came back to a house that was sparkling. I had a list of other things she had to do, but as far as the housework is concerned I have got it to 75% of where I want it to be. Seven months ago, it was at about 10%, so I am really happy. I feel I have achieved something. So I’ve figured that success in 2015 is going to be about the following:

1. Begin

The number of times, I have decided to just do one little thing that will take 5 minutes and it has turned into a morning of progress. It’s just the first step that is the hardest part. The same goes for this blog. There are days when I wonder to myself what I am going to write and I sit down and just begin typing. A blog follows – often times longer than I intended. Every book begins with a single word. So just begin your project and see how it goes.

2. Set Goals

I didn’t do a lot of goal setting in 2014. I wandered in the general direction of forward, but in 2015, I have a few goals lined up. There are things I want to try and achieve. Even though I haven’t written them down, goals are always a great thing to have in mind. They keep you focussed with your eye on a target.

3. Keep On Keeping On

This is the thing with life – success seldom happens overnight. There is always a back-story that we often don’t see. Think of your own life. You haven’t got to where you are today without a lot of water flowing under the bridge. A house is not built in a day. A race is not run in a moment. An adult is not grown overnight. It all takes time and the moments become minutes, which tick over to hours and days and weeks and months. Unless you intentionally focus on what you are doing, it’s easy to have time flit away – regularly at the hands of mindless computer games or embracing the more subtle form of voyeurism – Facebook! Whatever your plans, just keep on working towards making them happen. One little step forward is one step in the right direction.

4. Dump, Delegate, Deal With

Remember the three D’s – Dump the excess in your life. Carrying around a lot of baggage is cumbersome and slows you down. Ditch what you can. If you are not coping, delegate the stuff that you may find you don’t have time to do or are tasks that you shouldn’t have to be doing. Deal with the rest. Sometimes you just have to say, ‘if it is to be, it is up to me’ and get on with it.

5. Know It Is God Who Goes Before You

This morning on one of my Whatsapp groups, missionary to Zambia, Lynne, sent the lyrics of a hymn written by  Nicolaus Zinzendorf who lived between 1700 and 1760.

“He leads us on by paths we did not know; upward He leads us, though our steps are slow.  Though oft we faint and falter on the way, though storms and darkness oft obscure the day; yet when the clouds are gone, we know He leads us on. He leads us on through all the unquiet years; past all our dreamland hopes and doubts and fears, He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze of losses, sorrows and o’er clouded days; We know His will is done. And still He leads us on.”  

Nothing has changed. Trust God to lead you on!

Words of Jesus – Matthew 28:20

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Here’s to a successful 2015!

Keep the smile going.

God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂