It’s New Years Eve … a day to reflect on the passing year and to think about new beginnings.

Many people make New Years Resolutions … I do too, but I like to call them Goals for the New Year. Resolution has an all or nothing feel to it … you either accomplished it or you didn’t. I tended to think in black and white (which I’m in the process of changing – one of my ongoing goals is to be more encouraging and positive), so you would think I would be in favor of resolutions. Sadly, I found myself feeling like a failure sometime around February or March.

I have learned, however, that life is lived one day at a time … and that there are lots of “gray” areas, so I’ve decided that I prefer the term Goals. With goals, you can have steps toward achievement. Improvement counts toward achieving the goal … it’s not necessarily all or nothing – pass or fail.

The planner / organizer in me loves making lists … so I make a yearly To-Do List 🙂 I actually break it down into a few lists … Business, Personal, Home and Relationships. I usually list a few areas I need improvement in with a couple of ideas to start working on them. I don’t put them in any particular order … with asterics, not numbered … no specific importance rating. I try to break things down into doable bite-sized tasks. My goal for the end of the year is to have worked on these improvements consistently enough throughout the year that they have become habits. 

I like to reflect back on my goals for the past year and see improvements, whether large or small, they are steps in the right direction 🙂  Sometimes I need to roll-over items to next year’s list, but I choose to believe that I am a work in progress (positive and encouraging), not a failure. 

2014 is a clean slate, a new beginning … we have to let go of the past and look forward to the future. Forgive ourselves, let it go, and work toward improvement in the new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR and BLESSINGS on your 2014 GOALS !!