Happy 2018! Have you broken all your resolutions yet?
I looked at my first post of the new year 2017 and recalled how it was focused on a small
light at the end of what seemed like a very long tunnel. I was hopeful, don’t get me wrong, but I also felt the pain of 2016 lingering strongly in the background. Lead Freely went from being a dream I had years ago as a pastor, working largely with helping people excel in faith, life and leadership within their systems, to a reality born out of brokenness. Leading out of freedom in all areas of life — community, identity, direction — is something I had to rediscover and want to champion for everyone I encounter.
2016, for all it’s bumps and bruises, helped make that happen for me. Even though much of my journey really took hold in 2015:
- The internal battle of anxiety which led me into the torment of obsessive-compulsive behaviour. (See all of my ‘burnout’ posts for more)
- A church that wanted me out of leadership.
- A wife that had enough and resolved to move on.
2016 was not the year of Eric. So what did 2017 bring to realization and reality? Well, here’s my short list of things I bring into the New Year, resolved or not. Hopefully these are items that can help you along your journey to freedom in life and leadership:
- You can’t please everyone. So stop trying.
- You can’t be someone else, even if that is what others want from you.
- You don’t have to say ‘yes’ when everything within you is screaming no. Regardless of how much pressure you feel from others.
- You can only do what you can do in the moment you are in. Usually one thing, and time will not be bent to accommodate your wishes to do otherwise.
- You can’t love someone else the way they deserve to be loved if you don’t love yourself first.
- Every morning I start with thanking God that I am His child, no matter unfolds.
- You will not find happiness from anyone else, if you rely on them to make you happy.
- You need to allow things to end and move forward if they are not in your control, and that can be the greatest expression of true love possible.
- Your soul is the basis of everything you do. If you direct it at trying to complete an identity other than your own, you will lose it. (Remember, the Greek word that is the root for the english word ‘psychology’ is literally the word soul.)
- Your true values will be exposed by the direction of your soul, so if it is facing the wrong way, you will worship what you do not value.
So that is my list for 2017. I am healthier in many ways than I was a year ago, and most definitely moreso than I was 2 years ago. And my hope is to continue honing this list so the end of 2018 will look and feel even better. I hope the same for you!
If you need help learning to lead freely in 2018, contact me and let’s talk. Happy new year…really.
Lead Freely 