Are you ready for a successful year?

Are you ready for a successful year?

The test of a sailor is not when seas are calm and the wind is steady.

We are not in a fairy tale, no superhero is going to make everything turn out all right, and 2021 is not “happily ever after”.

It’s up to us.

Here is a 12 question quiz to see if you are ready; Can you keep your eye on the goal and keep moving to a successful 2021? Each of these is a yes/no question. When you are finished, tally up your score.

1. When the media reports the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise as does the number of deaths, are going to keep your resolve to do what you can to keep yourself and others healthy and maintain your poise instead of reacting in outrage, anger, or resignation?
2. When unemployment rises during the year, and it doesn’t seem that the government is doing what it can, will you understand that solutions take time, possibly even a year or more, and that no path to financial stability is a straight line?
3. When violence erupts, and everyone seems to be saying our society is cracking and calling for some immediate reaction, like new laws or use of greater force, are you going to let things settle for a week or so before rushing to advocate some short term solution that could have long term unintended and unforeseen consequences?
4. When the powerless or defenseless are ignored, punished, or discriminated against, are you going to call it out even if it’s a group, race, ethnicity, class, or religion that you are not a member of?
5. When you see something on media or social media that starts to make your blood boil, are you going to say to yourself, this was purposely placed here to make me lose my poise and get me angry, it’s most likely a very biased very small slice of what actually happened, and I’m not going to let it affect me that way?
6. When your group advocates a strategy or tactic as the only one that will work, or advocates waiting until there is one that has been proven to work, are you going to keep in mind that no one really knows the best strategies or solutions for complex problems and remain open to workable alternatives?
7. Are you willing to regard setbacks, even big setbacks, as valuable information, rather than omens of impending doom?
8. Are you going to focus on building a better future together instead of complaining about the past or tearing down anyone who proposes other solutions?
9. Are you willing to work with people who have violently disagreed with you if it means accomplishing common goals?
10. Are you willing to recognize that often there a multiple strategies or tactics that could work and that sometimes it’s more important to start doing something, even if it rules out the course of action you favor?
11. Are you going to verify information, even if seems to come from a credible source, before accepting a premise that supports your existing point of view or dismissing one that contradicts one of your beliefs?
12. Are you going to take time every day to be mindful of the blessings of life?

How did you score?

Do you have 12 yesses? If not, go back through each question and rethink your answer.

When you have 12 yes answers, you are the sailor who is ready for whatever winds and storms 2021 throws at you.

Remember your answers.