Three actions
to create peace and prosperity in 2021
New Year’s is around the corner. Are you making any resolutions? Want to change anything?
How about next year being your best year yet in creating peace and prosperity?
Here are three actions to put on your TO DO LIST for 2021:
1. Carve out 10% of your time to devote to inner peace and growth. You have 24 hours every day, so 10% would be 2.4 hours. You are thinking, “I don’t have that much time!” Are you sure? What about time spent watching tv or gaming? What about sleeping until the last possible moment to get up? If you want your best year yet, then you need to spend 10% of your time on YOU! What will you do with that time?
- Meditate or pray. Do you want more peace? Meditation or prayer is a proven activity that lowers anxiety and increases both mental and physical health. Think about 5-15 minutes for meditation or prayer.
- Journal. Every day enter a note about gratitude. When you foster a spirit of gratitude daily, you will notice a difference in how you go about the day. You will be less anxious about what you don’t have and more thankful that what you do have. Just read this quote. “I thought 2020 would be the year I got everything I wanted. Now I know 2020 is the year I appreciate everything I have.” Think about 5-10 minutes journaling.
- Exercise. You don’t need to join the gym. Just move at least 30 minutes a day that can get your heart rate up. Consistent exercise releases all the good hormones and helps negate the bad stuff. If you need to lose weight, consistency will help, but nutrition is best. Think of at least 30 minutes for exercise.
- Eat Good. Eating right takes time to actually slow down when you eat as well as making food that is good to eat. Nutrition might actually be the change with the biggest impact in your overall physical and emotional health. When I eat like crap, I feel like crap. If I eat good, I have higher energy and clear thinking. Both help me get things done, which in turn, creates peace and less anxiety over what is NOT getting done. Think about one hour for meals and meal prep. Slow down and eat right.
- Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan. Easy, right? Many people plan a day. Few plan a week. Create a template for a week that reflects your values and priorities including time for others. Plan your week based on the template including each day. Think about the ONE THING most important to complete each week. At the end of the year, you will have moved the needle in the areas that matter most. Want more peace and prosperity. This is a key one! Think about 15 minutes to plan your week and 5-10 minutes to prep for the next day.
- Read. In some part of your day, take 10-15 minutes to read. That should be about a chapter a day. Depending on the book, that means a book completed about every two weeks. Coupled with listening to a book or podcast in the car, on a run, or working around the house, and you are LEARNING! Leaders are readers. Think about 15 minutes for reading.
- OK. Depending on how you time the above out, you took 10% of the day for activities that will create health, peace and prosperity in 2021. Not as daunting as you thought, right?
2. Save 10% monthly. No rocket science on this one. One of the greatest enemies of peace is money and bills. What if you paid off all the debt and saved 10% each month? How would that effect your peace and prosperity by the end of next year? You don’t need to answer that. Set up an auto withdrawal to your savings or investment account. In other words, pay yourself FIRST, not LAST. Live within your means without the credit card. At the beginning, this can be hard. The peace that comes from no bills and money in the bank – priceless!
3. Give 10% monthly. Are you kidding me? Give away 10%. That is way too much! Before you just shut down on this one, think about how that money can impact others. Our family is starting a non-profit this year. The goal is for all us to give 5%-10% to the non-profit. Some of us already support other causes. Each month, a family member chooses where the money will go. We will have a few agreed upon rules, but a great deal of flexibility. I can’t wait to see how many people we can help just as a family. At the end of next year, Christmas will not just be about us. It will be about how we cultivated generosity and blessed others. What kind of peace and prosperity could you feel next Christmas if you gave away 10% of your income? You will never feel anything quite like it.
So, there you go. Three simple actions that can make 2021 your best year yet (and a great year for those around you, too!).
Wishing you all the best year yet in 2021!
Shalom,
Doctor Peace