New Year

I am excited for 2009!! I tend to be more of an optimist. I like to look at a new year as an opportunity to get past the successes and failures of the past and move on to what lies ahead. There are dangers that come along with living in the past. It does NOT matter if the past is filled with SUCCESS or FAILURE.
When you look back and see failure, many times it is like we find our feet in a pit of tar. We can move forward, but your steps are so labored by the stickiness and weight of this black substance that you don't want to move anymore. You constantly feel the ache and soreness that your memory muscle feels from the preceding steps. Each step feeling heavier and heavier. The only way to feel relief is to get out of the pit. You need to forget about those past failures and focus solely on what is ahead.
The same can be true for a past full of success. Along with success comes the trap of complacency. It feels so good to be in the place of success that you start to just hang out there. It is like boiling a frog. If the water starts out hot, he jumps out. But if the water feels just right, he'll stay in that place of complacency until it is too late. It may seem like a stretch to relate boiling frogs to success, but our reaction to success can be very similar to the frog's reaction to the water. If you don't believe me, study some people you know that have sustained success over time. They never stay focused on the past. They always look to the future.
Where does this put you and me? In 2009, purpose to look straight ahead. Leave the rear view mirror for the photo albums and journal entries. Move forward!!