New Year’s Eve is upon us and it’s that time of year when we start thinking about the brand new year ahead.
A full wonderful 12 months in which to achieve our greatest, be our best and have the best year of our lives… A wonderful blank slate of 365 as-yet completely empty days for us to fill as we will.
So WHAT IS IT that we want from this New Year challenge?
Some may be praying that things can at least stay as good as they have been. But there is always an extent to which we all want for some kind of change… for some kind of event… or some kind of notable improvement or achievement in our life.
This is not a time of year, however, for lengthy posts so I will get straight to my two quick tips for life-changing force or goal-achieving power for 2012…
1. Set yourself just ONE GOAL for the year. Rather than thinking vaguely about all the things you might like to change or achieve this year, try setting yourself just ONE goal instead. You’re much more likely to achieve it and it could make a MASSIVE difference.
Your one goal could be something big and concrete such as build a shed… go to see the Northern lights… or move home. Or it might be something more on a personal development level such as: to take definite steps to tackle an anxiety problem or depression… to be more optimistic about your outlook… or to start looking for the positive in every day.
Here’s one that I really like from John Burroughs for example: “One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.”
2. Quit the blame game. It’s all their fault not mine!! The truth, of course, is that this is a very human trait. We blame the job market for the fact that we do not have a job…
We blame some random plumber for the fact that the downstairs loo has been out of use for a year… We blame our spouses or our jobs or our children for winding us up or making our life a misery…
And we blame our parents for making us who we are. And yes of course it may originally have been the plumber or the husband’s or your parent’s or the job market’s fault – but does that help make the situation any better????
No!!! Your parents may have affected the way you turned out. But that was in the PAST. You can choose today to be and to act however you want. Your kids or boss or spouse may cause you problems but it’s not their problem to solve. Only YOU can make things better.
Blaming others means that things are much more likely stay the way they are rather than change. Only by taking control of the situation ourselves can we make things different.
We can choose to act rather than be a victim of our circumstances. We are the last person we want to blame for anything.
The truth is that – despite our claims that we give ourselves a hard time or don’t have enough self respect etc. etc. woe is us all… we are often very reluctant to blame ourselves for the things that happen to us in our lives. Yet it is sometimes only by pointing the Finger of Blame inwards that we can actually hope to find a solution to our problem.
So on that happy note..
I wish you: A Very Good Year!!