Well, the virtual planning event for my Faith-Filled Annual Planning Experience is almost here. This Friday, twenty amazing participants will gather to work on their annual planning for 2015. We will come together, virtually, three times during the day and then separate to do the work we have slated for ourselves.
It’s an unstructured day from the stand point that each individual will do the work they need to do for themselves. There are no rules. Just the trustworthy request that the day is set aside for a pure focus on planning.
There has been pre-planning building up to this. In November, as you know if you are following along at home, I worked on prayerful consideration of my Life Verse, my Mission Statement, and my Life Intentions; completing my Inventory; creating a Vision Board and writing my letter to 2014.
When I took my inventory I really felt I fell short. I had lots of things intended for the year that are still hanging in the balance. The inventory helps me get my intentions for the coming year and acts as a barometer to see how I have done and what decisions I need to make going forward.
I intended to finish my business processes and procedures this year. I have not. I intended to get out of debt. I did not. Reviewing this brought me way down and made me a little sad. As people in my Faith-Filled Annual Planning Experience have shared in our private Facebook group the reflection has made them a little sad as well. It’s sobering to have unfinished business and dashed dreams.
Focusing on the places we fall short can derail us if we fail to look at the other side of the coin. Completing the inventory is never a complete look at the year. I usually have much to celebrate (and this year is no exception) and I did that in my letter to 2014.
In my letter, I went (as usual) month by month through 2014 and focus on the positives. I thank 2014 for the lessons, the accomplishments, the gifts, and the answered prayer. God moved in my life in unbelievable and nurturing ways and at the time, the challenges seemed insurmountable. When I review them I see can often see the blessings in the trials. Sometimes I cannot, but I can always find a reason to be grateful and the letter becomes an outpouring of that. When it is complete, I have realigned with all the good in my life and I generally have a clear picture of what is important and where I set the bar too high.
Realistically, I could not have cancelled out all my debt last year without lottery winnings. To have set the bar that high was poor judgment on my part. I am grateful for every experience this year, that I had the credit available to get my new computer when I needed it, and that it all happened for a reason. Being unrealistic with my timeline and my intentions showed me how to create a new intention for 2015 that focuses less on the debt and more about the way I will spend money and care for myself and my future in the process. The sober look via my inventory and the celebration and thanksgiving in my letter helped me find a path that more clearly defines the real outcome I want for 2015 and shaped the new intention.
It’s why I have created my process. It balances out my planning and helps me approach it from all sides. It also helps me to take a step back and give God credit for the work He is doing in my life whether there has been success or ‘failure’… and what that means for my focus in the coming year.
My focus on Friday is to create three intentions for 2015… not the long list I had for last year. Three intentions that will shape each part of my life in the areas I feel most called to shape. The day will be so valuable to me as I plan for the coming year.