The ball has long dropped, the hoopla surrounding New Year’s Eve is now over, and the start of a New Year and decade has begun.

The ship called 2020 has set sail.

ABC News introduced its longtime newsmagazine, 20/20, in 1978. For some of us this is a lifetime ago!

As the old year gave way to the new one I could hear Barbara Walters, one of the co-hosts, signing onto and announcing the start of a new, Friday night episode – “And this is 20/20!”

With her declaration, whether real or imagined, she would have been spot on as the clock struck midnight as revelers were partying in the streets or whether one was tucked away under the covers at home celebrating quietly.

The 20/20 TV show depicts in depth stories of one form or another not normally covered on a traditional news broadcast.    

We are a week or so into the January calendar. Resolutions have been made while some may have already been broken.

It’s time to put your life on autopilot, cruise the next three hundred fifty-ish days, and then hit rewind to circle back until we start the end of year festivities again.

Yawn-yawn-yawn.

B-O-R-I-N-G!

In the world of optometry, 20/20 is a measure of visual acuity. The closer one’s eyesight is to this numerical standard, the clearer the vision and the need for correction is not necessary.

These timely reminders got me thinking and I would like to pose to you the following questions.  

What will be your in depth story for 2020? 

How clear is your eyesight, so to speak, as you peer into all which the year could have in store for you?

Perhaps a good dose of intentionality might be the remedy for allowing your day-to-day existence to transition from the same old-same old routine to a new way to craft your year into something you desire it to be.

It’s worth at least the thought and more so, it’s worth a try. 

In all seriousness, what do you have to lose?  

As I start out the year, there are several things I am being intentional about already:

• I am starting my day earlier to meet with God, read His word, and to build my faith.
• I just got a new spinning cycle and have started to chart a course which will keep the mood and heart rate up and the weight down.  This thing is awesome!
• I have enrolled in an online writing course called Unlocking Your Book and have made the commitment to allow outside input to ignite and curate what has always been inside of me.  It is time to tell my story. It’s in there. It’s time for it to come out! 
• I am intentionally looking to widen my network of quality friends and associates to broaden my horizons. We are not meant to walk our journey alone.
• Lastly, I have committed to consistent times of fasting and prayer to get a better sense of the direction God wants to do with my life.  A little less food can’t hurt the weight issue, yes?

To celebrate our anniversary the past two years, Jackie and I visited Annapolis for an overnight stay. While there, both times we made plans to take a sailboat cruise on the Schooner Woodwind.  

There is something about being out on the open waters, setting the sails, and accepting the invitation into the unknown (albeit controlled) which not only calms me, but calls to me.

If you live near or within driving distance of Annapolis do yourself a favor and book an excursion with the folks at Schooner Woodwind, you will not be sorry you did. It was wonderful!

Reflecting back on our time out on the water, it reminded me of a quote attributed to Mark Twain, despite some dispute about the accuracy of this attribution.  I have always loved and tuned into the heart of its message. Thank you to whomever the quote is correctly attributed.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

My encouragement to you is this. 

Do something you have never done. 

Get comfortable with getting out of your comfort zone. 

Don’t let the voice of regret be the loudest voice in your head by giving into doing nothing. 

Sail away from whatever you consider your safe harbor. One never knows where those trade winds might take you. 

After all, God as well has something to say about you and what He has in store for you this year.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Allow yourself to explore, dream, and discover all which He has already imagined for you.

What is one intentional act on your part you plan to do to set your 2020 in a new direction?