Where did this month go? Actually where did this year go? New Year's day is just 14 days away. It's been an incredibly busy, productive year - a 'great' year in most respects. Now we're entering my favorite time of the year, a period in which one can 'wipe the slate clean' - start anew on January 1. Personally, I've been racing to finish a slew of old projects that have been on the back burner for some time now. Most projects will be done, once and for all, before the end of the year. Others will be finished in January, while still others will evolve to new stages. It really gives me a sense of accomplishment to work my way through this whole process.
In fact, I've already started brainstorming about my 2006 New Year's Resolutions and goals. In 2006 I plan to:
- Increase my daily exercise program from 30-to-60 minutes daily (including biking, swimming, Yoga, Tennis, weights, gardenng, and walking).
- Expand my photography business, focusing more on children, sports and pets.
- Create a dedicated photo blog for my business (a blog expands on my main website)
- Flesh out and write my book on New Year's Resolotions, I Resolve To . . . (and maybe put up a blog specifically for the project).
- Continue working on my list of home, yard and garden projects.
These are just a few of the goals that I've been noodling. With all of this in mind, I really believe that people get hung up and never pursue their New Year's Resolutions because they make too many, get overwhelmed, bored, scared, or worse they never really figure out 'how' to pursue their resolutions in a realistic, step-by-step way. I've been doing this for so many years, and have refined the process to the point that it doesn't really bother me to juggle a half dozen key goals (plus other smaller projects that come up throughout the year). I've also read dozens of books on the topic, and have worked my way through my own goals in 'trial and error' fashion, keeping the good and tossing the 'less good' (when it comes to errors there is no 'bad', if you learn a good lesson that sticks with you).
I firmly believe the key to achieving New Year Resolutions boils down to 5 Do's and 5 Don'ts. High on my list of Do's:
- Dare to Dream: Open your mind to the possibilities.
- Decide: Make a firm decision (resolve) to pursue your goal.
- Define: Define specifically what you want to achieve, making your resolution something that can be measureable, with timelines and deadlines.
- Develop a Plan: Create a work plan that will enable you to break your goals 'To Do's into manageable daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly chunks.
- Do It Daily: Spend 30 minutes each day planning, doing, achieving.
High on my list of Don'ts:
- Don't give in to fear.
- Don't get overwhelmed.
- Don't grow discouraged & weary.
- Don't give in to endless procrastination.
- Don't give up.
I've devoted a lot of time this year to thinking about these ideas, and to tracking my goals and resolutions on this blog. Much of the time it's been pretty mundane, but it does help me to come here and write about my progress (or lack of progress some days). I firmly believe 99 percent of the battle is just 'showing up' and making an effort. When you do that it's amazing what you can achive! So, as 2005 winds down, I'm reviewing what worked, what didn't, and what I achieved. I want to to apply those lessons learned to my resolutions in 2006. More on that in a future post. For now, it's getting late and I still have newspapers to read before I hit the sheets. Better 'get to it'!