One of my most important guiding principles...

I suppose there are some people who travel the roads of life without any guiding principles but I don't know any of them — these are the "rules and character" that regulate our thoughts and actions in everything that we do. I know many of us may not have them well defined or articulated but we know there is something that guides us. These principles are at the core of who we are, and although they evolve, rarely change in my opinion (except maybe because of dramatic events).

This is what I think about just after Christmas and before the New Year presents itself — it's always an important seven days for me. I don't necessarily reflect on all of my guiding principles (although I might), but I definitely focus in on one. This line of thinking actually has me wondering if I've ever articulated my guiding principles (even to myself) — an oversight I will correct here and now:

• "Be Curious"
• "Be loyal and generous to my friends and family"
• "Work hard"
• "If you are knocked down seven times, you get up eight"
• And the fifth, the one that started these 400 words, is "Reflect and Plan".

This time of the year (after all the Christmas presents are opened) is a natural time to reflect on the past year, review how it measured up to what you wanted to accomplish, and contemplate the "good and bad" of it all — it is figuratively the time to prepare for the next step of your journey.

This is the time to plan what you will do next, what you want to accomplish over the next 365 days, and what the next step of your journey will be.

I'm a big advocate of getting it down on paper because it just seems more tangible and carries the weight of something that is important to get done; in a small way this blog is the start of that process for me. By many measures this has been a successful year, and as I reflect on my guiding principles, they have served me well — and as I say farewell to 2017, I will say I am very excited about the year to come. I plan to make it a great one.

As you prepare to ring in 2018, I wish you a very Happy New Year. 

With great appreciation,

iamgpe

PS: Don't forget to write something down.