January Week 1 - Clean Up and Get Rid of the Clutter!

January begins the first month of a 12-month series dedicated to self-discovery and personal development. This month's focus will be establishing a foundation of success. In order to effectively prepare to reach our goals, we must first create a plan of action. This plan should serve as our foundation for reaching success. I have found that making a committment to seek God's will as the driving force of my plans, has been the source of my greatest accomplishments. Oftentimes we depend on our own thoughts and devices to determine our direction in life, only to find ourselves lost time and time again. Through diligently seeking God's purpose we are able to experience life with a clarity and focus that gives us the peace needed to make decisions and to address the tribulations of life. Trust me when I say there have been multiple times when I tried doing things my way whether it was within relationships, career choices, and even day-to-day decision making. I'm so grateful that I have discovered that God's way is always best. Below I have listed some additional suggestions for developing a foundation of success.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousnes; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33



The Key to Establishing a Foundation of Success is Organization


Maintain a Journal:

Many times our minds are so cluttered that we're unable to focus on daily routines let alone working toward our purpose. A journal is an excellent source for writing down personal goals and gaining clarity through the written word. As ideas and thoughts are written, dreams and visions are brought to life and the thought-process of how to nurture gifts and talents becomes stimulated. Often times through writing, passions are discovered that would have otherwise remained unknown. Make a committment each day to not only write down goals but to also include the steps that will be taken each day to move a step closer to reaching the goal. Free-writing is also a wonderful way of expressing emotions that may be difficult to verbalize. Journal writing helps to organize thoughts, and many have described it as being therapeutic.


Organize Surroundings:

A cluttered home can often lead to a cluttered mind! As we take this journey of self-discovery and personal development it is important that every area of our lives becomes organized. Everything from the rooms within our homes to our offices at work should serve as a representation of a lifestyle of focus and clarity. I've found that the more I maintain consistancy in the small things such as keeping a clear desk, promptly doing the dishes, or maintaining good financial records, the easier it becomes to maintain a disciplined life of organization. Increased organization makes the process of living a life of purpose less complicated and easier to manage.



Dispose of Toxic Relationships:

We are commissioned to love our neighbors but our neighbors do not have to have a front row seat within our lives. Sometimes the number one barrier standing in the way of living a life of purpose is listening to people who seem to serve no other purpose in our lives than to fill our minds with negativity. While it's important that we strive to be examples of love and offer our support to uplift the various people that cross our path, we must determine their role within our lives, and whether they are a distraction, or a source of encouragement as we continue on our journey of purpose. Identifying the place that individuals hold within our lives make it easier to determine with whom to invest our time, hearts, and spirits.