In late December and early January, many of us reflect on what happened in our lives over the past year and start thinking about what we’d like to see happen in the new one.  I know I have.

This retrospection can cause feelings of disappointment if we haven’t accomplished some of the key goals we had hoped to do over the previous year, and discouragement if we don’t know how to make these things happen in the new year.

I read something recently which really got me thinking about how to put the dissapointments of the past into perspective while moving forward into the future to achieve our goals in a more clear and focused way.

It’s from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, an excellent book that I’ve been reading each week with my teenage sons:

“One of the quickest and most direct routes to getting yourself up and onto the success curve is to get out of the past. Review the past, but only for the purpose of making a better plan. Review it, understand and take responsibility for the errors you’ve made, and use it as a tool to do differently in the future. And don’t spend a great deal of time doing even that! – the future is a far better tool than the past. The future is your most powerful tool and your best friend. Devote some serious, focused time and effort into designing a crystal-clear picture of where you’re going.” [Read more...]