Something New!
A Global Mindset
By Myra Wallace, Beauty Come Forth, CEO

So here we are in twenty twelve looking back over our shoulders at all the heartaches and disappointments 2011 brought our way, determined to do it differently in 2012.  It doesn’t matter how well things went or how tragic things were for you last year, the New Year always brings a sense of hope.  For many it is simply the fact that God allowed us to see another year.  To others it may be you cheated death. No matter how subtle or dramatic your transition into this year may have been, you are here and new opportunities await your attention.  Now my question to you is, will you spend your time pondering over the past, with a multitude of regrets clogging your brain or will you press forward and explore the real world that entertains new ideas, new words, new feelings, new foods, and new surroundings? 

This is the year for you to try “Something New”. If you are a hermit, get out and meet some folks. If you’ve been dieting all of 2011, try a new food or try a new restaurant.  If you’ve been the most popular girl on facebook, take some time to see if you can enjoy yourself, by yourself, and on the flipside, if you’ve been running from every social outlet, it may be time for you to jump on facebook and feel the “like” of others.  If you’ve been stuck in a rut by the same daily grind, take a sabbatical and travel to some place you’ve never been.  Tap into the untouched in your life.

I remember the first time I tried asparagus.  I was having dinner with two friends whom I consider very cultured in the area of fine dining.  The three of us often got together to just hang out and catch up on life and this usually took place at a restaurant of their choosing.  This particular night, I felt a bit daring, so I decided to take a leap into the unknown (as it relates to my palate), let my friends order my food. Although, well aware of my somewhat simplistic palate, they decided to expand my realm of healthy eating options by introducing me to the world of asparagus.  Now you may be thinking, “She can’t be serious, asparagus?  Really?”  Yes, really.  I was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and immediately asked myself, “Now, what was it that kept me from trying this new palate pleaser?”  To this day, I still do not know the answer, but what I’ve come to realize in that moment, is that I am the only one who had put the walls up around my comfort zone, and as long as I operated in the confines of what I knew could keep me satisfied, I would never try something new, which could possibly present more pleasant surprises.

The common thread that will bind Beauty Come Forth in 2012 will be a journey that motivates you, to try something new, stop thinking local, and take on a global mindset.  Below, I’ve listed a few suggestions to help get you started to a life of pleasant surprises by simply trying Something New.

• Take a trip to somewhere you’ve never been
• Try a new type of food
• Take a new route to work
• Adopt a pet
• Make new friends
• Sever bad friendships
• Try a new color lipstick
• Sing out loud in the shower
• Speak to everyone who crosses your path
• Give up a food that’s bad for you
• Take a day and do absolutely nothing
• Stop procrastinating
• Pray, pray more
• Start your business
• Establish a foundation
• Cook dinner every day for a week
• Spend a day working at a local mission
• Have a conversation with a homeless person
• Write down your dreams and actually act on them
• Clean out your closet, garage, house, car
• Travel the world

It’s 2012 and as with every other year we often glean and hold fast to the significance of the number of the year we were blessed to be in. Well, the number 12 is also significant, as it implies structural beginning or foundation of organization, as well as governmental perfection, but 12 was also the age of Jesus when He first appears in public (Luke 2:42) and utters His first-recorded words .

So there you have it, make 2012 a year that counts by making it the year that associates all that you do with being one who made a difference because you stepped out and tried something new.

www.myrawallace.com