Well, really, not 2007 lessons, but lessons learned in 2007. Here goes.

1. Start Today

For years, I had lists of things that I wanted to do, but year after year would go by and I wouldn’t even begin because I was afraid I wouldn’t finish. Last year I set a goal to write everyday. I started out really strong as usual, then half way through I found I didn’t have anything to say. I shifted from writing for the public to journaling. The sheer practice of writing everyday, no matter how small pushed me forward. At the end of 2007, Balanced Life Center broke 700 feed subscribers because I chose to start on a goal I had for many years.

2. Make the Time

I realized that when I say I don’t have the time, what I really mean is I don’t want to. When I took a hard look at my life, I saw that I made time to do all the things I really wanted to do for whatever reason. It could be that I made myself get to work at 8am because I wanted to keep my job. Or I spend time chatting on the phone because I enjoy the connection. Good or bad, everything that I chose to do was done exactly for that reason: I chose it.

When you say you don’t have the time, you are really saying that whatever it is is not a priority at this point in your life. When you think about it that way you will find a way to make the time. I did everything I thought was important.

3. Keep Your Spiritual Practice

You know I had to sneak it in. My spiritual practice keeps me sane. In past years, this would be another one of those things I would start and stop in 3 months. This year spending 30 minutes in the morning reminding myself of the nature of God and my true Self saved me. It kept me focused on the bigger picture. It helped me to recognize it in others. It helped me to be kinder to myself and others.

4. Go Easy on Yourself

You’re not in a race. You have no competitors. You don’t even have to out-do yourself. It’s such a relief coming to that realization. I always thought that if I went easy on myself my life would go to pot. The complete opposite happened. I got stronger and softer. I gained freedom and lost control. I had more to be proud of and felt no need to be proud.

5. Be Courageous

Every step you take in the direction of your dreams, they take 10 toward you. Start small with your courage. If you want to be a public speaker, go to Toastmasters and be the timer. If you want to have love, start smiling at potential partners. If you want to run a marathon, start with a walk around the block. AND KEEP GOING. When you finish that block or have the first date or get asked to be the evaluator, go the next round. Keep putting one step in front of the other. You will find yourself at your goal in no time.

6. Trust Your Instincts

One of the benefits of my spiritual practice is my heightened intuition. It nudges me all the time, often 2 to 3 times before I take the hint. I’m learning to listen and trust. Here’s a tiny example. I was heading back to Raleigh after visiting my family for the holidays. As I was packing my bags, something told me to get the cards out and put them in my laptop bag. I didn’t listen. Then, in the car, I was talking to my parents and asked my dad if he got my card. He said there was a stack of cards on the table and he hadn’t opened everything yet, so he didn’t know. When they stopped for gas, I calmly went to my bag and removed the cards. There in the stack was his card. Seems tiny, but it’s practice to trust. I am a heavy analytical person, but I am learning the value of that 6th sense. It always sends me in the right direction.

7. Life Is In Your Favor

One of the tenets of my faith is that the God is all good all the the time everywhere present. When I started to live as though I believed that I realized it meant that life is in my favor. The realization helped me to stay open to the possibilities at times when I would have tried to make things happen in a particular way. Making things happen is infinitely more difficult than allowing them to happen.

Imagine that only good can come of anything and there are infinite realities of that good. When that happens, you can’t go wrong. I’ve been through a lot of painful stuff this year. But the thing that makes life painful is not having faith and not getting what you want, it’s shutting your connection off and looking outside yourself to fix it. You can’t completely shut off the faucet so it’s a struggle to do so. Then, when you’ve sufficiently tightened it you feel like you’re paddling upstream. Go with the flow, you will feel ease and contentment. Your life will be full.

Happy New Year! Later on I’ll share with you some of the things I’d like to learn this year.

In Spirit,
Nneka