Just when Christmas is over and all you want to do is kick back and relax, how many of you are experiencing pressure to create New Year’s Resolutions? How many of you are resisting the idea altogether?
Either way, the process (as we usually go through it) doesn’t seem very appealing or creative, does it? At best, it seems like work and at worst, it seems like a sure path to failure. I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in deliberately setting myself up to fail.
According to Wikipedia, a New Year’s Resolution is “a commitment that an individual makes to a project or a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous.” YUCK! Even the term “resolution” seems really heavy, hard and energy draining, don’t you think?
Maybe you’ve given up making New Year’s Resolutions for the same reasons I gave them up:
- They don’t work!
- You didn’t KEEP them and you ended up feeling guilty.
- Rather than feeling excited to get started, your New Year’s Resolutions had you “should-ing” all over yourself.
How much fun is THAT? Isn’t it time for a Fresh Start?
A few years ago I tried something different. It worked so well that I’m making it an annual tradition. Maybe you’d like to give it a try.
Make It Trippy
What if you planned your journey through the year just like you’d plan a trip? Where would you like to be by December 31st? You might begin by asking yourself some questions:
- What kind of journey would excite or inspire you?
- What would you like to experience?
- Who would you like to meet?
- What memories would you like to create?
- What fun would you like to have?
- Who would you invite along?
- How much money will it take to create a fantastic and FUN-tastic trip?
- What do you need to do physically to be in shape for your journey?
- What things must you learn or would you like to learn?
Some trips are going to be ambitious and some are going to be more like weekend getaways. It doesn’t matter as long as you are having fun creating your trip.
The exciting part is that when you envision your trip, your actions (goals) fall out naturally. And they no longer feel like “shoulds” even if they don’t always feel like fun. You’ll find that you are willing to take action because doing so gets you more excited about your trip.
Make It Visionary
The following paragraph is an exerpt of my vision for my New Year “trip”. You can design your own process, whether it’s a vision board or a bullet list. I’m including this example to help get you started. This paragraph is written as if my vision has already come true.
“I’ve been excited and ecstatic to watch my business expand exponentially again this year. I’ve met and exceeded my financial goal and it happened effortlessly. My clients are excited about the new programs we’ve implemented to serve them. They’ve been telling their friends and colleagues about the results they are getting and our Facebook Fan Page is growing by leaps and bounds. We easily surpassed our original fan goal.
The feedback we are getting is so positive that I can’t wait to create even more “FUN-tastic” products and services. My heart is full of gratitude for the good things that have come my way this year.”
What goals can you identify? What actions must happen for your vision to come true? There is work to be done but rewards will be built in along the way to help keep everything in balance.
I’ve created similar “visions” for other aspects of my journey, including health, finances, relationship, spirituality, and recreation. I post my vision in a spot where I can read it daily. My anticipation builds as I dream my trip and I experience joy as I dream of accomplishing each step along the way.
Make Room for the Unexpected
What makes a trip an adventure is that no matter how well you plan, you will encounter unexpected surprises. Parts of your itinerary may not work out exactly like you planned. Other parts may turn out even better than you expected. You never quite know how it will go. Someone or something may rain on your parade.
The best you can do is immerse yourself in the “experience” of your trip no matter how it goes and allow yourself to escape the rat race of your everyday world. Isn’t that the best part? When you think about your most challenging trips, didn’t you learn a lot about yourself along the way? How often have you later looked back upon your biggest challenges with fondness for the gifts you were given as a result of the experience?
When unanticipated interruptions or detours get in the way of allowing you to complete everything on your “itinerary”, consider re-scheduling them. Or you may choose to skip something or change your “itinerary” and do something else. Intentionally dealing with incomplete items will keep you from beating yourself up or feeling bad about what you didn’t accomplish.
Make Your Journey Rewarding
Most of all, make your trip through 2010 be about escaping the rat race and creating a Fresh Start full of joyful experiences that are important to you. Make your journey a rewarding one that’s worthy of your time and energy. Create a vision so compelling that you can’t wait to stand on the mountaintop on December 31st 2010 and view your year with a sense of accomplishment, joy, and fulfillment.
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How about tossing out those tired old New Year’s Resolutions to create a Fresh Start? Call Coach Sue or email sue@threesquarescoaching.com to find out about our upcoming January Jumpstart Program.