What Are You Listening To?

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

My wife and I were watching one of the football games this past Sunday and I was playing on my iPad at the same time. She read me something, looked over and asked that very simple question. I had to admit that, no, I did not hear her. I missed the truly important because of the trivial.

This exchange got me thinking about what we listen to on a regular basis, both externally and internally.

Externally, who and what are you listening to on a regular basis? Are the people closest to you offering up good solid advice with your best interest and success as their intent or do they have, perhaps, their own self-interest in mind when providing you with free counsel? What are you watching on TV? What are you reading? What do you listen to in the car, at home, or when you workout?

Internally, what are the first thoughts you have when faced with a difficult decision or challenging situation. Are they negative or positive thoughts? Do they go directly to a worst- or best-case scenario? Do they point to a solution or just magnify the problem? We can learn a lot about ourselves if we simply reflect on the first thoughts that initially come into our minds.

We have many choices to make every day. What we choose to listen to is one of the most important.

Re-evaluate who's providing you advice. Consider their motives and intent. Years ago, I had a life-altering decision to make; stay in Minnesota or follow my dream to move to Texas. I had a lot of well-meaning friends offering me opinions of why Texas would be a really bad move. I knew it was what I was supposed to do and I'm so glad I didn't heed their warning. I can't imagine my life if I had listened to the people who wanted to keep me where I was instead of letting me pursue my destiny.

Consider what is coming into your mind through you eyes and ears. You can literally change the way the way you think if you'll change what goes into your mind. My philosophies and attitudes have radically changed since I stopped reading "fluff" and listening to pop culture personalities. With a focus on reading the Bible and listening to people like Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, and Joel Osteen, everything changed. Modifying my music preference from Top 40 to Contemporary Christian has had a profound, positive effect on me, also.

And, finally, listen to your internal voice. Get your own internal dialogue going. Question whether or not what you're saying to yourself is going to produce a positive or negative outcome. You have the power to choose how this conversation goes, what your ultimate response is, and what future conversations/outcomes will consist of.

Make these changes in what you're listening to and watch your entire outlook on life change in an extremely positive way.

"Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather." Psalm 1:1 (AMP)

January First

Having survived half a century of January Firsts, I have some experience and lessons learned in setting up a new year. The initial years of my adult life, I didn't take the importance of a new year as seriously as I should have. There just seemed to be so many in front of me.

January First is the key to a successful year. But my first step in making sure it is maximized is to step back one day. December 31st is my day of reflection. To make January First the most impactful I can, I need to take all the choices and decisions I made, all the actions I took, all the results I achieved and use the power of hindsight to learn from them. I can then take this insight and apply it going forward. That's what can make January First so powerful. I can compare what I set up to achieve last January First with what I actually did by December 31st. This can be incredibly effective if you'll just be honest with yourself. Celebrate the victories and learn from where you fell short.

Next step is setting the goals for the coming year. Scripture tells us:

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18 

Knowing this, you have to get a vision for your next 364 days. Focus on all of you; mind, body, and spirit. Determine what you want to accomplish in those three areas. Having studied goal-setting for a long time, I recommend the S.M.A.R.T. goal methodology with one exception. S.M.A.R.T. is an acrostic for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. The one change I recommend is enlarging and expanding what you consider to be "Attainable." Know that you are capable of much more than you even imagine. Don't shy away from setting big goals. In fact, replace "Attainable" with "Audacious" in your S.M.A.R.T. process. Remember Michelangelo said:

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

And this powerful quote from Paulo Coelo:

"Impossible is just an opinion."

Get your Specific, Measurable, Audacious, Relevant, and Time-based goals for your mind, body, and spirit written down. Include personal, professional, relational and financial goals. Now start laying out an action plan on how best to accomplish them. Set milestones. Focus on how you will accomplish these goals in the time-frame you've allotted.

Finally, take your plan and start acting on it. December 31st is my reflection time. January 1st is my planning time and January 2nd begins my action time. Check your progress periodically. Some goals you need to review daily, some weekly, at the longest, monthly. Don't let too much time go by without a thorough review of where you are right now. Again, honesty with yourself is the best policy! Make adjustments as necessary to keep you on track.

Throughout this process, I recommend prayer. Prayerfully reflecting, planning, and acting makes each activity much more effective.

Reflect, plan, and act. Do these things with today being the day you plan it all out and I guarantee you the next 364 days will be the most productive and satisfying of your life. It all begins with January First!

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13&14 (NIV)