Tiredness is something with which we are all too familiar.  If you ask the average person if they are tired, they would probably say yes.

Is this how we are meant to live our lives, in a constant state of tiredness? Or is it that we have not been responsible with our time management and have allowed ourselves to be over-worked?

I know there are times when tiredness is a symptom of a physical problem that needs to be checked out. I also am aware that tiredness is good when it represents having worked hard.

But the tiredness I am talking about today is what we experience due to being over-worked and over-committed. It’s that constant state of tiredness in which so many, especially those with leadership responsibilities, operate.

Believe it or not the Lenten season is upon us once again. It’s that time when we start thinking about what we are either going to give up or add to our lives for the next 40 days. For many, this is a time of reflection and making adjustments to their lives.

In thinking about the Lenten season two words came to mind: grace and judgment. These two words are central to this season. Because amazing grace was shown to us through the suffering and death of God’s Son Jesus, we will and can stand in the Day of Judgment and not be condemned for our sins.

I also started thinking about grace and judgment in terms of how we relate to each other and wondered how different life might be if we intentionally lived more graciously toward one another and less judgmentally.

With so much anger and hostility in the world today, kindness and gentleness stand out when we see them in action around us.

I read a heartwarming news article on the Internet today about some Target employees taking the time to help a young man who came into the store to get a clip-on tie for a job interview. The store does not carry clip on ties, so the young man bought a regular tie and the employees assisted him with tying it and gave him some coaching on how to handle the interview. A customer in the store saw what was happening, took a photo, and posted it online. The story went viral. The customer who took the photo commented, “It was a very quiet simple moment, but it was very profound honestly [sic] kindness . . .  from strangers . . . in a Super Target.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if most of the news stories we read or saw were stories of kindness, and the ones that went viral were the stories of anger and hostility because they are so rarely seen? In reality, the heartwarming stories are not the ones that make most of the news.

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
– Albert Einstein

Recall the last mistake you made. How did you handle it? Did you own up to it, and perhaps learn something from it? Or did you try to blame it on someone or something else and move on? If your response was the latter, you have plenty of company – it is the response of most people.

Most of us fear making mistakes, and when we do, we try to rationalize them away. The reality is, mistakes are a part of life and we should not live our lives in fear of making them. Rather we should learn from our mistakes or we run the risk of repeating them.

How can we learn from our mistakes?

I am dyslexic, and as a result, reading and writing are very tedious for me. I naturally struggle to comprehend what I am reading, and trying to capture my thoughts in writing is a real challenge.

While these are real issues for me, I have lived most of my life trying not to let others see my weaknesses. I have tried to appear as I perceived others to be – without weaknesses.

Why do we try so hard to not let others see our weak places? Why is it we always want to come across as strong and in control to those around us? Why do we deny our weak places when others point them out to us?

As I sit here in front of my computer writing this post it is wet, cold, gray and raining outside. It has not been dry or sunny here in weeks. To be honest, this could easily and quickly get old and downright depressing. The forecast for the next 10 days indicates the likelihood of some sun. Then again, this is the weather we’re talking about – something which we have no control over.

How many of us let something like the weather get us down to the point of being angry and depressed? The question is, why allow something like the weather, over which we have no control, make us angry and depressed?

Exhausted is an experience that is common to many of us, perhaps more so with those who have leadership responsibilities. Why is it that we seem to spend so much of our life being exhausted?

Life is demanding. Certainly there is much to get done. Surely we have to keep up, or we’ll be left behind . . . or so we think.

In our effort to keep up, we become exhausted, not enjoying the journey but only trying to achieve goals. Yet too often when we achieve a goal, we end up unfulfilled; so we take on more in pursuit of other elusive goals, all the while becoming more exhausted in the process.

I know I am four days late but nevertheless, let me welcome you to 2015. I imagine some of you are looking forward to 2015 with excitement because of the potential you believe it holds for you. Others of you are not excited about 2015 because the outlook does not look positive.

Whether you are excited or anxious, let me share some things you can do that will help make 2015 a wonderful and fulfilling year.

First, understand that you have the power to choose. This is a God-given power that even God will not override. That makes you the most powerful actor in your life.