HOW FAR WITH YOUR 2017?

At midnight today, 3oth June, 2017, we would come to the end of the first half of the year, 2017. The implication is that whatever you have planned to achieve in this year, you should have made about 50% progress.  It’s this reality that prompted me to ask you the question – how far with your 2017? The essence of this question is to get you to appraise your life, efforts and strategies and plot better ways to lead your life in the remaining part of the year. That’s why on today’s episode of BrojidStepUp, I’d like to share with you some thoughts on appraising the year so far.

One powerful thing about appraising yourself is that it affords you time to sit down and reflect on your life and come up with your score card. That’s why I believe that self-appraisal shouldn’t be a yearly, quarterly or weekly affair. It should be done at the end of an activity or phase in your life or your organization. In fact, if you can, make it a daily affair.

Most importantly, if you fail to carry out this exercise with all sincerity, you cheat yourself and deny yourself the progress you could have made by ascertaining your true state. That’s why I encourage you to ask yourself all the possible questions you can come up with. Don’t be on the defensive; probe yourself on the use of your resources and the lifestyle you lead as though you are an FBI investigating a hardened criminal.

In your appraisal, do well to probe into how you have used your time, money, energy and expertise. These are resources given to you by God and you are meant to be a steward of them. They are not yours; you are simply a custodian of them for God on earth.

In the use of these resources, we often either fail to use them at all or underutilize them. Please ask yourself how well you have done with them. I don’t know you personally, but you know yourself. So, ask yourself all the necessary questions that will show you how you have performed so far in every area of your life.

Did you give your time, money and energy to frivolities – people and activities that don’t deserve them?  Were you too emotional to say no to people and activities that don’t deserve your time? Were you carried away by marketing gimmicks that go you spending on what you didn’t budget for or even have need for? Were you unserious in feeding on the word of God and prayer because you were busy chasing top grades in your class, contracts or clients? Were you carried away by pressure and financial needs that you subscribed to underhanded methods to get result? How has your new relationship affected your life? Has it made it better or worse?

Please be sincere with yourself and possibly get a paper or notebook and do this appraisal. Take record of your performance and give yourself the score you merit for every aspect of your life. Don’t do it in a haste. It’s important for your life in determining how the remaining half of the year will turn out to be. Set aside time to do it and document your findings.

In the course of doing this, you will find steps and actions you may have reasons to regret. I’d like you to know that the essence of this appraisal is not to fill your heart with guilt and regret; it’s to enable you see clearly where you have done well so that you can sustain and increase the tempo as well as reveal where you have not done well so that you can improve on it.

Please don’t just stop at that appraisal; implement the result of your appraisal. Please take steps that will lead to a better performance in the second half of the year. You may have to be ruthless in your decisions and take steps that may not be convenient for you. Don’t hesitate to let go of relationships, habits and lifestyle that has limited you. Dare to embrace the changes and investments that will propel you to greater heights. It is your life and you can’t leave it to chance. It’s not cool to allow bad habits and lifestyle run your life. Show them that you are the boss!

Very importantly, don’t fail to hand over the remaining part of the year into the hands of God. Prayer is not a religious affair; it’s a way of life. It is good to appraise your life and plot a new strategy for greater result in the remaining half of the year. However, unless God empowers you to execute those plans and strategies, your attempts are in vain.

How do I know?

The Holy Bible says, “Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builder is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.” (Psa.127:1NLT)

Prayer is not laziness or abandonment of duty, it’s recognition that even though God has empowered mankind to get certain things done, He is still the governor of all earth. He has absolute control over what happens on the earth and can therefore frustrate or facilitate your effort. Please do well to present your weaknesses and progress to him in your prayers and ask for strength and wisdom to succeed where you had failed and sustain success where you have them.

My point?

Regular appraisal of your life is important and does you lots of good. It helps you make progress and get more result in every aspects of your life. Make it a habit and do it sincerely. Take steps to implement the result of your appraisal in your life and don’t forget to seek the power of God as your support.

I pray for you that God Almighty, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be your Shepherd in the remaining days of this year and always in Jesus’ name. Amen!

To learn more on how to make the most of your time, I recommend that you listen to these podcasts, Time Your Indispensable Gift Maximize Your Times and Seasons I  Drastic Decisions for Maximizing Your Time, I Kill Time Killers

Yours, Joseph ‘Brojid’ Dinwoke, Lifestyle & Inspirational Blogger @BrojidWorld. Your comments and questions are welcome through WhatsApp: 08105504664 I Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn@BrojidWorld. You can read our hundreds of posts, scores of podcasts and book at brojid.com.