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Reducing Regret


As with every start of a new year, I am contemplating the many things I would like to do, change, try and/or stop.  My list is long and quite overwhelming, but it does speak volumes of my Personal Character Inventory & Action Plan.

Yes, I have my very own acronym that I JUST made up!!! PCIAP…I think I will pronounce it pee-see-app and I will remember it by thinking I have to pee every time I see an app on my phone or iPad!!  Oh goodness, where’s my confirmation to the nuthouse?!?!!

The point is that taking an inventory of where we are and what we are doing is something we should be doing and not just on the first week of January.

Going a step further and making the necessary changes is what will make us better – no matter what month it is!

However, this year I would like to take a different approach to my array of goals and objectives.  I want to add another column to the ever-growing spreadsheet and identify the things in my life that would REDUCE REGRET.

Whatever do you mean, Meg?

Well, I’m talking about the following:

1. CEASE THE GUILT!!!  This could mean to stop feeling guilty about; saying no, eating molten chocolate cake (my favorite), and missing a deadline, forgetting a birthday or the massive pile of laundry that needs to be done!

What causes us guilt needs to be changed, stopped or cut out completely.

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. James 1:14

2. WORRY NO MORE!! Worrying does not accomplish a thing.  It is beyond useless and only makes us feel worse.  So, instead of worrying, we should make a plan of action and well, ACT!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

3. CREATE OUR OWN PCIAP!!  We can’t know what to do if we don’t know who we want to be! No one can just be a doctor.  They would have to get an undergrad degree at a university, apply to med school, go to med school, complete their residency, and then they would get to do what doctors do!

So, why do we think we can take a pass on ‘paying dues’ on whatever our goals or objectives are? The answer is that we can’t!  In fact, we will just be more frustrated and beaten down if we don’t plan accordingly and live out that plan.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Luke 14:28

4. FOCUS FIRST ON THE SHORT TERM! Making long term goals are great, but in order to make these dreams happen we must first figure out what step we need to take today to get there.

Break those ginormous goals into baby steps to make today manageable and not overwhelming!! In fact, if you’ve never planned before, start by making plans for this week and revisit what was accomplished and what else can be done for next week.  Baby Steps!!!

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

5. MAKE GOD THE FIRST PRIORTY! This should be at the top of my list because I have personal experience that shows what can happen when I place God as the master of my life.  Reading His Word, spending time with Him and living as He has asked will eliminate any regret in life because we will then be living in His Will and producing fruit that only comes to those who follow Him!!

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

The New Year will be what we make it!  We can fail to plan, therefore plan to fail.  Or we can start reducing regret in our future today by placing our lives in the Heavenly Father and allowing Him to lay out His plans for our lives…which were designed just for us!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Some Wisdom for Today:  Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

*Image courtesy of “Inscription Of The Year 2015 Written In The Wet Yellow Beach Sa” by Serge Bertasius Photography/Freedigitalphotos.net

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