Tomorrow I am leaving to spend two days at the Jersey Shore at a B&B in Cape May with a friend, Jane Kirsch, from http://www.lifeandworkbydesign.com/.
We are planning to have fun, play with some dreams, brainstorm ideas, and set some goals and intentions for 2010. This is the first time I have done this with another person. I am looking forward to the interaction and mutual support from someone who understands.
Since I will be preparing to meet my goals in 2010 for the next few days I thought I’d share this article that was originally published in The Dreaming Cafe newsletter on December 13, 2009.
Leave a comment when you are finished reading and share a little of your process or some of your 2010 goals. Sometimes sharing your goals adds a bit of accountability. If you do leave a comment I will be sure to follow-up with you to see how you are doing.
Happy New Year!
Five Ways to Prepare to Meet Your Goals in 2010
How do you close out the year? Is it a flurry of activity, get-togethers and parties with family and friends? Do you take time to reflect on the year that is coming to a close and plan for the New Year?
For the last few years I have spent a considerable amount of time reflecting, dreaming and planning. I keep a special journal just for this purpose.
I’d loved to schedule a whole day or a whole week just for this purpose, but real life doesn’t permit this luxury. Instead I have learned to take a few minutes or a few hours every day to review, reflect, journal, dream and plan. I find the time because it is a priority for me. It is important to me.
I review my journal notes and my goals from the previous year. I take time to write about and summarize the months that have past and I reflect on my future and what I want.
This has been a very powerful process for me. And, I am not the only one who does a year in review. I was very surprised to read the Chris Guillebeau, from the Art of Non-Conformity, has a very similar process. You can read his post about is end of the year review here: 2009 Annual Review.
Here is a brief overview of five techniques I use to prepare to meet my goals in the New Year:
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1. Choose a word, or more than one to guide you in the upcoming year and to give you focus.
I chose three words for 2009: creativity, relationships and spirituality. I worked to make them a priority and asked myself each time I started something new, or each time I felt a little off track, if these words were leading me. It has been an incredible experience. It has allowed me to meet lots of new people and develop new friendships, opened myself up to exploring painting, art journaling and drawing and I experienced a new sense of peace, belonging and acceptance in my spiritual life.
I am not the only one who has used this technique. You can read this Christine Kane guest post by Lisa Rough: “2009 Word-of-the-Year: INTEGRATION,” and see how choosing a word to guide her helped her re-prioritize her life and find focus.
2. Choose a ‘theme’, or a guiding statement of what you want to accomplish in the New Year.
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As I have said before, 2007 was a turning point in my life and in the three years since my life has changed dramatically. Not so much on the outside, but there have been huge shifts internally. Choosing a guiding theme is similar to choosing a word or two. These were my themes for the past few years…
2007: A year of awakening and opening.
This is the year I simply and gently started to acknowledge the things I needed and wanted.
2008: A year for discovery, healing and forgiveness.
Even though I had started to acknowledge my dreams and started to move forward I realized I had a lot of internal healing to do first. This was a very difficult and emotional year.
2009: A year for exploring and having fun with my ideas; continuing my journey of self-discovery and going ‘deeper’.
I am still reflecting on this past year, but I have recognized that I took a lot of little steps and some big ones. It was all about exploring, seeing what worked and what didn’t, about not taking myself too seriously and having fun.
And, I am leaning toward “Growing into my Vision” as my 2010 theme.
This theme was inspired by reading Bill Strickland’s “Make the Impossible Possible
It is really about moving forward with confidence. I have worked hard over the last three years and I know what I want. It is time to start taking bolder steps and growing into the person I was born to be.
3. Make a list of your successes and accomplishments from the last twelve months and see how closely they are related to the words and theme you chose to guide you.
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I did this in a more public way at The Dreaming Café this week under the post “Who Would Have Thought?”
4. Make a list of the things you may have failed at or the things you wanted to do, but didn’t accomplish. What did you learn? What obstacles were in your path?
The one big thing I failed at this past year was maintaining my daily meditation practice. For most of the year it is how I started my day. I would write and meditate every morning. But, it kind of fell by the wayside this past summer and I haven’t re-established it.
Part of the reason is that I was writing so much more, and while I was working, I only had so much time in the morning. I thought when I resigned it would be easy to reincorporate my meditation practice back into my life, but it hasn’t happened yet. I don’t have all the answers and I am still reflecting on this point.
5. Reflecting on the work you have done in the first four steps make a list of goals that you would to accomplish in the upcoming year. Then, ask yourself ‘why?’ Why are these goals important to you? What will their accomplishment mean to you?
My list usually includes some very specific goals with a timeline, as well as, some general statements of things I want to accomplish.
For example, one of my less than specific goals for 2009 was ‘visit Minneapolis, MN’. I didn’t list when, or how or why. But, I put it out there. When I asked why? It was because traveling and meeting people had become important to me.
A more specific goal for 2009 was to write for a minimum of twenty minutes a day, every day. I do this through a combination of writing for my blog, articles for this newsletter, journaling and morning pages.
At the end of 2008 I finally acknowledged my desire to be a writer. To accomplish that goal I knew that I had to do two things in 2009. One, write, and two, share my writing.
Bonus tip…write yourself a letter and include your list of goals, and add one or more ‘big’ goals or dreams you were afraid to list previously. Put this in an envelope and seal it. And, don’t open it until next December. You will be amazed at the power of this single action.
In December 2008 I added at the bottom of my letter, almost as an after thought: “The Big One – start my own business and resign from my job.”
That ‘big one’ came true in early November.
Pretty powerful, huh?
It’s not magic. If you align your goals and dreams with what you want, and take action every day, dreams do come true.
I am still in the process of reviewing and reflecting on 2009 and setting my intentions and goals for 2010. It is not usually something I can do in one session and I have learned not to rush the process.
I hope that you, too, will look at 2009 is a new way and approach 2010 with hope and positive expectation.
I look forward to sharing more with you over the coming months and hearing your story.
