On December 2, I celebrated my 44th birthday with family and close friends.  During the week of Thanksgiving, we loaded up a rental minivan and hit the highway headed to Jackson, MS.  We had a great time bonding with family, shopping, and of course – EATING!  I’m happy my wife had a chance to see all of her relatives including her mother and grandmother.

(All the grandchildren posing for a pic…including my Shauntai – my wife)

Last week, my family and I shared a birthday meal together and I hopped on a plane to a much warmer place with a few close friends.  You can call it an official “fellas” trip.  We had a chance to catch up on old times and enjoy each others company in a “warm” & “stress-free” environment.  In short, we had a great time.  While away, I thought about my next steps in life…what they would look like…how I would approach the next phase of my life.  It’s been said “when a man enters his 40’s he carries with him the experiences from the past and the anticipations of tomorrow.”  Thus, I decided to create an organic…ongoing list called “Now that I’m 44.

Now that I’m 44…

1. God will remain the center of my existence. Without Him I’m nothing…All to Him I owe and all to Him I FREELY give.
2. I will work extra hard/smarter to learn how to be a better husband, father, brother, son, and pastor. I’ll practice “kaizen” – the art of continuous improvement.
3. I’ll use teachable moments life presents to teach my sons how to be a better man than me AND model true manhood to my daughter.
4. I’ll spend additional quality time with people who “refresh me” rather than “drain me.” Life’s too short to be miserable, frustrated, and stressful.
5. I’m stepping up my dress code. My wife says I’m already a sharp dresser, but I want to maintain a sense of distinction whether formal or casual.  It’s true: “You never get a 2nd chance to make a great 1st impression.”
6. I’m simplifying my life in order to spend more time with people I love and doing things that bring me joy.  Therefore I set limits on what I do.  For example, check email just twice a day. Write emails of only 5 sentences or less. Only check Facebook, Linkedin, and  Twitter once a day.
7. I’m committing to one (1) goal at a time. Often the problem is that we try to take on too many goals at once. We have a list of things we want to accomplish, spanning the spectrum from gardening to to getting in shape. It can be overwhelming, and because of that we never start.
8. I’m done with multi-tasking.  I’m focusing on single-tasking. Why is it life-changing? A couple powerful reasons: (1) You’ll be more effective with your tasks and get more done. It’s hard to achieve important things if you’re constantly switching tasks and distracted by other “urgent” things.  (2) You’ll be less stressed overall and (in my experience) happier throughout your day.
9. I’ll practice more kindness. Yes, kindness is a habit and it can be cultivated.  Focus on it every day for a month and you’ll see profound changes in your life. You’ll feel better about yourself as a person. You’ll see people react to you differently and treat you better, over the long run.
10. I still refuse to smoke or eat chitterlings (Chitllins”) no matter what. PERIOD!

Well, that’s about it for now.  What about you?  Do you have a list?  Will you create one?