This article was first published in the Mercury Bay Informer of 3 January 2018. See www.theinformer.co.nz
At this time of year many leaders will be thinking about setting personal and organisational goals for 2018.
Perhaps in this increasingly busy era where technology has us connected to the world around us 24/7 the most important goal we can set for ourselves is to spend a little bit of time each week reflecting. Bill Hybels recently said “my biggest concern about leaders is their lack of reflection time. We stop asking who we are doing this work for, what kind of person we are becoming, and whether what we’re doing is working.”
Each day we make decisions. Each one of these decisions will have an influence on what we will achieve although it is not always possible to accurately predict the impact of our choices at the outset. If we do not stop regularly to check what direction these choices are taking us we might suddenly realise one day that we headed down a road to a place that we have no desire to be.
While we are all creative, this creativity is often hampered by busy-ness. When we turn away from the constant pull of demands and reflect we also carve out a space for creative ideas to surface and flourish. These are the very ideas that we need to help us fulfil our dreams.
Will you join me in making time for reflection in 2018? If so I’d love to hear about the results. Wishing you all the best for a happy and prosperous New Year.
