by John Maxwell, Stan Toler & Brian Kinsey

Your point of view will determine your destiny. We all experience highs and lows and have encountered blessings and victories alongside hardship and heartache, but our attitude and responses about what has happened in our lives will give us the healthy perspective needed to be an overcomer and finish strong.

Here are three suggestions to help you adopt a mindset that makes the most of the coming year.

1) See the lessons in every setback.

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. John Wooden

• Don’t be ashamed by the mistakes you made.
• Failures are stepping-stones to success, not proof of inadequacy.
• If you’re not stumbling from time to time, then chances are you’re not going anywhere worthwhile.
• Failures are not fun, but neither are they fruitless.
• Opportunities to learn and grow are embedded in every setback we undergo.
• “To see far is one thing; going there is another.” Constantin Brancusi
• Instead of dwelling on the disappointment of things going wrong, seize the insights of the experience. By doing so, you’ll emerge as a stronger person.
• “Maturity is the ability to stick with a job until it’s finished; the ability to do a job without being supervised; the ability to carry money without spending it; and the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.”  Abigail Van Buren AKA “Dear Abby”

2) Show gratitude for the blessings you’ve received.

Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues but the mother of all the rest. Cicero

• To cultivate gratitude, Oprah recommends keeping a gratitude journal:
• “Every night, list five things that happened this day that you are grateful for.
• What it will begin to do is change your perspective of your day and your life.
• If you can learn to focus on what you have, you will always see that the universe is abundant; you will have more.
• If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.”
• In addition to writing down what you’re thankful for, take action to show gratitude to the people who have helped you over the course of the past year.
• Expressing thankfulness to others encourages them, strengthens your relationship with them, and positions you to receive their goodwill again in the future.

3) Turn the page on the past and take joy in today.

“The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Hoping to get a glimpse into history, an interviewer asked an 87-year old woman, “What was the world like back in your day?” “Hmph!” she responded, “This is my day!”
• I love her attitude. Instead of being wistful about the years behind her, the elderly lady’s mindset was on making the most of the day in front of her.
• Look at your life honestly and assess where you are.
• Although life can only be understood looking backwards, it can only be lived moving forward. No matter what has transpired in your life, today is a blank slate.
• So set aside any regrets, enjoy the new day, and look forward to a better tomorrow.
• “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” Jack Welch