Tip 1: Look back before you look forward — December as a 'hilltop' for perspective

Mike argues that during the year we are 'deep in the weeds' with no perspective on our lives. He uses the metaphor of a long journey with hills and valleys: December functions as a hilltop from which one can look back over the path traveled. He notes that looking back may reveal that one's path has been 'wandering, meandering instead of a straight and narrow path.' The phrase 'straight and narrow path' is a biblical allusion (Matthew 7:14).