It’s been a month since I reviewed how things went in 2020. I ended up spending a number of days looking back, and I still didn’t complete the plans I had. I decided then that I wasn’t going to wait a full year before I looked in the rearview mirror.

I like to say that the best story is seen through the windshield. Not through the rearview mirror. I still think that is true, but I also am finding that looking through the rearview mirror is helpful.

Have you ever driven without a rearview mirror? I have when the glue holding the mirror to the windshield has lost its stickiness. The rearview mirror gets set on the passenger seat, or in the glove compartment, or in the trunk. I drive around town without a rearview mirror.

It would be much worse if something were to obstruct my view through the windshield, but not having a rearview mirror is problematic.

It’s hard to see what’s coming up on me. It’s hard to see what’s behind me. It is a bit disconcerting, so I head down to the auto parts store and buy a kit to get the mirror reinstalled. It’s usually after, at least, a few days that I make that happen.

The next time I get in the car and drive I feel a little more comfortable and confident on the road. I can see through the rearview mirror again.

Well, the same thing is true when I look through the rearview mirror of my life. One of the decisions, not quite a resolution, I made at the change of the year was I was not going to wait as long to review my progress. I was going to change the way I do things.

When I was in corporate finance, we spent a good deal of our time looking back. Three weeks out of every month was devoted to either looking back on the month that had just passed or preparing to look back at the past month. I’ve not been in a position or in a habit to do that for nearly eight years.

I thought I would never go back to doing that. I don’t plan to do it the same way as I did back then. I still want to keep my focus on what is coming up rather than on what is in the past. When I looked back at 2020, though, I realized that I had spent so much time focusing on what was coming up that I didn’t accomplish the things I wanted to accomplish in 2020.

The world was in a place of shock in 2020. Maybe, we still are.

When I asked my Facebook community how their expectations for January 2021 compared to their expectations, Sandra responded that January 2021 was basically 2020 2.0. When I asked her whether 2.0 was an improvement or a harsher version of 2020, she said the jury is still out on that.

I know, in my case, that I had high expectations for this month. I have a habit of expecting things to work out instantly.

For example, after I hosted the first meeting of the World of Difference Toastmasters meeting on January 13th, I was expecting to go from zero to a hundred in sixty minutes. When we didn’t have the required twenty members to charter, I was crestfallen. My feathers sagged.

I spent a couple days struggling with uncomfortable feelings before picking myself back up.

Partly in response to my feelings about

At our first meeting, we had 22 people show up. By our next meeting, we had six members in the club. At our second meeting, we had 14 people attend.

At our third meeting, we had 17 people in attendance.

The club now has 11 members. We’ve not reached the required number of members, but we are on our way. The club has gone from a possibility to something that is happening. We’ve seen the first signs of life.

Soon we hope to have our club fully developed with twenty members and a charter with Toastmasters International.

The experience I has taught me a lot about expectations.

This month, I’ve also spent some time creating what I’m calling the Profit Cycle. Not the sexiest name. But it has helped me to see how things happen. I based it on the cycle of the year, the five elements of ayurveda, and the story structure I’ve been using for some time.

The five stages are: birth, spring, maturity, harvest, and death.

Thinking along these lines has helped me to manage my expectations better. When a child is born, we don’t expect them to begin their career, yet we’re excited about their arrival.

It takes time for things to mature. Just as the World of Difference Toastmasters club is taking some time to mature. For it to be fully developed instantly, while possible, is unlikely. That’s okay.

When I look back at January, 2021, I see some large gaps between where I am currently and where I hope to be. There is a long season ahead before my plans reach maturity. That’s as to be expected.

My job is to be a good steward of the tasks I have at hand. As things develop, I will expect more from my efforts. For now, I am grateful that some good things, like the Toastmasters club, have begun to take shape.

beginnings expectations review