Choices for 2024

Last year we shared a few thoughts on the choices we make. Given its popularity, we decided to share it again as we start 2024.

Stewardship

Choose to be a steward of your time, talent, treasure, and relationships. Choose to see your life as an opportunity to share what you have been given with others, in a way that improves the quality of their lives. A mindset of stewardship helps release us from the tyranny of ownership.

Trust

Choose to build trust. My friend Dave says trust is built through character, competence, and caring. Character is who we are, competence is what we know, caring is what we do.

Goals

Choose to set goals. Keep the list short. No more than three to five business goals, no more than three to five personal goals. More than that, nothing is a priority because everything is.

Growth

Choose personal growth. While goals are important, the process of personal growth is critical. It is the journey of becoming who we were designed to be by our Creator, in order to maximize our impact during our time here.

Responsibility

Choose to take complete responsibility for yourself and all that comes under your domain. And choose to wear the mantle of responsibility with grace and dignity.

Grace

Choose to extend grace to yourself as well as to others. We are all on a journey. That word of kindness or encouragement could make all the difference.

Rest

Choose to rest. As finite, we must have rest. Our bodies weren’t designed to go non-stop.

Learn

Choose to be a lifetime student. Pick a language you want to learn, a culture you want to study, an author whose books you want to read.

Faithfulness

Choose to be faithful to those to whom we have committed, and to our calling and purpose. The primary mandate is not to success, or glory, or accomplishment. The primary mandate is faithfulness.

Advice

Choose to ask for, listen to, and apply advice. There are no guarantees, no risk-free environments or investments, and no certain futures. Learn from those who are where you want to be in life, through one-on-one time, group learning, or reading what those people have written.

Attitude

Choose an attitude of gratefulness. Make a list of what you are grateful for. Add to it every day. Your sight allows you to see those you love, and to enjoy the beauty of a sunrise or sunset. Your hearing allows you to hear the joy in children singing, and the majesty of Beethoven’s 9th.

Example

Choose to set an example. Never underestimate the power and influence of the decisions you make today on those around you, and on future generations.

Hope

Choose always to keep hope alive. Be mindful of where you place your hope. C.S. Lewis said, “if we have longings which cannot be satisfied in this world, it is obvious we were made for another world”. Yes.

Perseverance

Choose to carry on. It takes no talent to quit, criticize, condemn, or complain. My friend Bill died on August 30th, 2020. He was a Marine in Vietnam and trained as an engineer. By profession he was an attorney. Like me, he was a preacher’s kid, which is not something I necessarily recommend. His motto? Suit up, stand up, show up, and never, never, never quit.

Randy Brunson