Search for:
     

I find New Year’s resolutions a good idea in principle but end up feeling a little disappointed when I don’t follow through. I also feel some obligation to get them done close to New Year’s Day.

Well, how about joining me in doing some planning for this coming year? There is no guarantee that we will all make it to 2004 so there is some need to work on short and long time frames.

The obvious questions to ask ourselves at this time are...
Am I successful?
Am I happy?
Am I on track for where I want to go?
Where do I want to be at the end of this year?

Remember Alice. She didn’t know where she wanted to go so the Cheshire cat told her that any direction would do. I think the main obstacle for many of us in setting goals is that we don’t know what we want.

Let’s look at Happy.

Are you happy looking back and looking forward? It would be good to look back with satisfaction and forward with hope and optimism. Looking back also improves if we let go of baggage. Often holding on does you more damage than the other party. If you forgive them, they need not know and you don’t have to tell them. Imagine if you were given bad financial advice and lost a bucket. Staying annoyed at the advisor will consume daily energy that could be used to look at alternative investments. The same holds for relationships. It takes physical and emotional energy to hold on.

Are you happy looking forward? Do you remember looking forward as a child to special occasions or events? Are you still looking forward with excitement? Why should children have all the fun? What about setting up something to look forward to? Maybe a trip or a big birthday party. If you have a birthday with a 0 at the end coming up this year, what about planning a party so you will have something to look forward to?

Are you happy right now? It seems that many of us enjoy ourselves if we are doing what we are good at for the benefit of others. Working on our strengths brings pleasure and satisfaction. A cold drink on a hot day is certainly pleasurable but we didn’t do anything to earn it. If we work hard towards building a strength and are then successful in using it, we have pleasure that we have earned. Like studying for an exam or getting fitter or learning dancing. I recently spoke to a friend who has taken up dancing again and is having a wonderful time as well as looking forward to the lessons each week.

Are you successful?

A broad definition of success should cover peace of mind, good health, freedom from financial worries, loving relationships, worthy goals and a sense of stretching into becoming what we are capable of becoming. If we can keep these plates spinning simultaneously we have every right to consider ourselves successful. How would you rate yourself in these areas? Why not write down one goal in each area right now?

I really do mean right now. Just the action of writing might get you started on a significant path. Simply writing down goals might start an avalanche of success.

I remember speaking to a group about goal setting several years ago. One woman in the group got fed up with the emphasis on self direction and showed me what she had written to shut me up. She had written ‘Ride a bike around China’. “Can we move on now”, she barked! Believe me when I tell you that some years later I met her in a supermarket and she pounced. She was with her husband and said ‘This is the man who is responsible for our trip to China!’ Apparently, she had told her husband that she had sarcastically written about the bike ride and he had suggested that it would be better than the boring life they were living. A year later they did take a trip to China and did go for a bike ride in the country. So there!

Do yourself a favour now.... And write down some goals for 2003. Also let go of some baggage. Let it go! Look forward to this being your best year ever. We are fortunate in Australia to be able to expect a healthy life until we get to seventy. Men should make it to seventy six and women around eighty three. These are merely statistics so make sure you are enjoying yourself at the moment just in case. Start working on your strengths – improve your speaking skills, your health and vitality, your optimism, develop a new skill, meet new people, learn to dance.

We are so fortunate to live in this wonderful country. So many people are leaving their own countries to strive to come here and we are here already. We speak the language of the world. Just imagine moving to a foreign country and having to learn a new language. We have a high standard of living and a stable government. Get the picture? Let’s make the most of what we’ve got while we can. Oh, and remember that you will maximise your enjoyment if you use your strengths to help others.

I would love to hear of any success stories. I am looking forward to my best year ever and I hope you are too.

Warm regards

Paddy Spruce CSP
Email: paddy@paddyspruce.com.au
Web: http://www.paddyspruce.com.au
Tel: 03 9808 8990