Imagine that you’re driving down a long road. This trip is different than many others, as you don’t have a navigation system or a map to follow. While your vision is clear, the destination is uncertain. Yet you know exactly where you want to end up.

There are detours, exits, rest stops and obstacles along the way. Some take you down dark, empty side streets. Others lead to lush scenery and roads paved with success.

Imagine that you’re running through an obstacle course. You have many challenges to overcome along the way. Some prompt you to stoop down, while others demand that you reach high. All require that you calculate risk and make quick decisions with ease.

Midway through the competition, you hit a big hurdle. To make it to the next level, you have to crawl under a barrier and raise the bar. Then, you have to find a way out of a small contained space to make it to the final stretch. You’re taken back by this obstacle, as you didn’t train for it. You’re determined to stand out, so you refocus your mind to push through a mental block.

Gifts and talents that come naturally to you may seem too simple. This may cause you to assume that others experience the same ease. In turn, you may view them as insignificant. While they may be effortless for you, this doesn’t make them unimportant. In fact, they're called gifts because they've been given to you by grace. It isn’t your role to determine their value. It’s your responsibility to take what you’ve been given and make the most of it.

Treasures are right before our eyes, yet many miss gems searching for pearls at the bottom of the sea. Potential isn’t something to find. It’s already inside. Possibilities aren’t just in dreams. It takes faith to believe.

True change is on the inside. Outside influences lose power to control you. But the impact of that change is only felt when you allow yourself to be stretched. While you may seek comfort, growth is limited by the familiar. If you hope to examine life beyond the four walls of your box, you must first be willing to step outside your comfort zone.

If a desire to change is stronger than fear of change, you’ll find the courage to take a step. Step into what you’re meant to do, and you’ll become all that you’re called to be.

At times life throws curveballs when we think we’re about to hit a home run. Discouragement quickly sets in. We’re tempted to step off the field, and we lose the will to try again.

Everyone steps up to the plate with the hope of hitting it out of the park. Yet very few hit a home run. Some make it to third base, while even more make it to second and first. None start with a guarantee of success.

What if the leaves were to say I refuse to change? They might not transition from shades of green to red, orange and yellow. Maybe they would fail to fall from the trees. They may not be willing to share branches with neighboring flowers and leaves.

While there’s beauty in transformation, there’s also resistance. Every stage of life involves uncertainty and risk. Even the calmest of periods is made up of rainy and sunny days. If we hope to grow, we have to be willing to embrace change.

If you pick up one rock a day, it may feel like the mountain will never move. But if you’re careful and consistent, you’ll leave time and space for the dust to settle. Other rocks will be affected by the change. Thoughtful movement will allow everything to fall into place. This will give you the balance to pick up rocks day after day.

Consistency is key. Pick up one rock a day. One day you’ll look back and realize you moved a mountain.

At the start of the year, you get the opportunity to look at the past through a rearview mirror. Perhaps last year’s progress was based on where you ended up at the end of the year. And your will to succeed was calculated by how quickly you got there. 

It can be discouraging to think about how things might have turned out had you taken another path. But it’s empowering to know that you can shift direction. If things didn’t go as anticipated, this might not be a long stretch.

This year, resolve to be the best version of you. While you may want to add some goals, it may not be necessary to change what you do. If you’re like me, you may just need to change your perspective. If you’ve committed to starting the new year with a new YOU, just start by being true to yourself.

Confidence is key. What you think about yourself becomes your reality. Believe that you can and you will. Expect great things to happen. Walk in that belief. What once felt impossible will feel within reach.

Perhaps something needs to change inside to make this your year of new beginnings. Reflecting on the tree, it has to make the best of its circumstances. While it goes through seasons, change may not be visible to others. Over the years, it builds strength to stand as it grows taller and establishes deeper roots.

The next time you’re thinking about making a quick move, think of the tree. Small, gradual changes may need to take place for real transformation to occur. Personal development may not always be evident to others. Maybe, just maybe, you need to grow where you’re planted. As you build a strong core, growth will occur naturally. And you’ll find the courage to branch out and embrace new beginnings.