Square 1

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Sometimes in the journey it is necessary to go back to the fundamentals, to the basics. Revisiting the essentials offers you a chance to re-calibrate, to regroup and to make adjustments to start again. It means going back to Square 1.

Though there are probably different “basics” for everyone, depending on where they are in their lives, there are a few elements that can make or break your day. Getting them right again can be the difference between living with momentum or merely surviving.

Square 1 means going back to 4 things

  1. GOD
  2. PRIORITIES
  3. ATTITUDE
  4. GRATITUDE

GOD

Failing to make time every day to discover His plan for the day and, ultimately, for your life will result in a rudderless floundering through every day. Even a simple “What good would You have me do today?” is enough to recenter your purpose and serve as a reminder that you are called to something more than just puttering the day away.

PRIORITIES

It is easy to be busy all day long and never make time for what is really important. You need to identify your priorities and then plan to attend to them. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Without a plan, wasted minutes turn into squandered days and lost years.  Planning need not be elaborate. A simple task list and approximate plan for your day is all that is needed to get a boost in your efficiency and effectiveness.

ATTITUDE

Sometimes it is just a matter of changing your attitude. Maybe you have allowed negativity to creep in and it is affecting your ability to persevere. The words that you say to yourself  manifest themselves in your mind and can lift you up or tear you down. There is power in positive thinking that exhibits through a positive attitude. As Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are right.” How you embrace your responsibilities comes directly from your attitude: are you negative and a martyr to the demands of your life? Or do you embrace your role with a positive spirit as a servant?

GRATITUDE

If there were one thing that is the pivotal element for all the other basics, it is Gratitude. Without it, all things and all actions and all desires are worthless. Gratitude fosters contentment. It reminds you of your smallness in the world, and your reliance upon Providence. It allows you to always live with more than enough and appreciate the abundance that is all around you. It allows you to bless others with what you have and to detach yourself from the world, with the knowledge that you are simply a steward of all in your charge: your time, your talents, your blessings.

So when you feel that life is difficult and out of control, step back from it all and go

Back to SQUARE 1!

“Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald