Monday, December 29, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! 2015

Hi Team!

I apologize if you have been trying to contact me via e-mail and your mail has been returned, the storage space fills fast.

I hope you had a nice holiday with your loved ones. :)

Now, the New Year lies before us! Time for some serious reflection, and planning/organizational skills.

I gave you something to think about last week:

Ponder this past year: Your personal growth, successes, perceived failures, relationships, goals that were accomplished, fears faced, and those not. Keep this list someplace you will remember, as we will use it in the near future, as the New Year sheds light. Many people think the New Year is when to start achievement of self and goals, but the truth is... every moment is the opportunity to begin.

Ask yourself the following questions, and above all... be honest with yourself.

Who are you?

What do you stand for?

What do you value? Why?

What brings you happiness, and a sense of fulfillment?

What drives you?

What holds you back?


I hope you had time to think on these questions, as they will prove invaluable as you begin to set New Year goals for yourself. Setting goals is much easier once you have firmly decided on what your values are, what brings you happiness and a sense of fulfillment, and you know what the driving power behind your choices are. These things help us gain a clearer picture of who we are, and more so, who we want to continue to become.

Once you discover what holds you back, truly holds you back, nine times out of ten you will discover it is YOU! Hahahaha! Yes, sad indeed, but true. No excuses, no blaming, just take it for what it is. I believe the three hardest areas in this life to confront and deal with are: Our self, our children, and our spouses, and just in that order, too, lol!

I look back and laugh, as a newly married woman, my husband and I both worked full time, and felt we had little time for much else. Well, surprise, surprise.......... six children later, homeschooling the kids for 15 years, earning a Doctorate, and working part time, all taught me I previously knew nothing about busy-ness, nor how productive one could be when they really wanted something, and I mean REALLY wanted it!!!

There is certainly a time and season for ALL things. Some come quickly, some take years, and others nearly a lifetime. When setting your goals for 2015 be SMART:

Specific: Be specific about what you want, make it detailed.
Measurable: Have a way to measure your progress.
Attainable: Be sure your goal is indeed, attainable.
Realistic: Keep each goal challenging, but realistic.
Timely: Set a date to accomplish your goal by.

and I personally like to add:


 'F' for flexibility, perhaps the most important on the list.

I want to share with you some areas of goals I have used in our family, for well over a decade. A week before the New Year, we gather our kids together, the older kids bring their kids, too. We all hunker down and get to work. The room has a magnificent energy to it. At times there's a lot of chatter, other times you could hear a pin drop. Eyes get teary as a few kids, who felt they ran short this past year, look through their goals for 2014, only to find at least 85% have been completed, with gusto. 

GOAL AREAS:


- Professional / Educational / Intellectual
- Relationships
- Creative things
- Spiritual
- Volunteer
- Health
- Fun / Play
- Material  objects


We all begin by setting a goal we want to accomplish in each area by the end of the year. Next, we go back through each area, and write something we will do the next week towards that one year goal. Finally, we list something for each area we can start with tomorrow. It works magic, if there really were such thing, lol.

I hope you find this helpful for you, your family, friends, co-workers, and associates.

Does it take time? Yes, it does. So, plan on a couple hours one day, or plan on completing one area a day until it's complete. Do what works for you. Remember, those who fail to plan, generally experience more perceived 'failure's'. Those who plan, generally have a higher success rate.

THE POWER OF WRITING:

I believe the power of writing is nothing short of a miracle. Think about it. You have an idea that's in your head, in the unseen world, if you will. You take that idea and write it down. What you have just done is take something from the unseen world, and brought it into the physical world. Powerful right?! Now, the critical part is ACTing on your idea that you have written down, as that's when the energy of your idea begins to manifest, and work, in your behalf. Whoolah!!!! Powerful stuff, my friends.

Have fun with this!