Thinking About 2021

We have all heard “Happy New Year” from our friends and loved ones several times over. I wonder how many of us have stopped to think about what will make, or have the probability of increasing, our happiness for the new year? Someone said, “Thinking the same way and doing the same things and expecting different results is a good definition of insanity.” So, where are you in your “Happy New Year” quotient?

For Christmas, one of my sons gave me the book, Limitless, by Jim Kwik. I am learning from this book that if I want my 2021 to be different from the past years, then I must undergo some changes in my thinking. This author asks the question, “Where is your limit?” And then, he responds with this thought: “Most likely, you’re experiencing a limit in your mindset, motivation, or methods…” (p. xii).

So, if I want my 2021 to be more productive, then I must change my mindset. While speaking with a person who kept putting off a life-goal, because he felt that he couldn’t do it, I responded, “Can’t never could.”  And then, I had to confess to myself that I had some negative thoughts that were defining my mindset and thus setting limits. I found it easier to tell the other guy how to pull up his boot straps than to pull my own up. Reason? An attitude; a poor perspective; negative self-talk? Each or all of these mental “poisons” will keep us from moving forward. By now, I am sure that you have noticed that productivity is determined by motivation which is determined by mindset which is determined by one’s attitude (positive or negative) which colors one’s perspective.

Thus, having a “Happy New Year” is not determined by different circumstances coming into my life but nurturing a more healthy mindset. And then, I just might see my circumstances differently. As I change my perspective, then my mindset, motivation and methods will take on an exponential shift which will most likely result in a happier year.

Wishing you God’s richest Blessings!

Ron McCaskill, Pastor

Christ Church Cairo