Well, Happy New Year.

How was last night? Overly infused? Low-key? Somewhere in between? If you rang in the New Year rung out from the celebration thereof, what kind of energy and intention have you initiated?

Think about that but don’t fall apart over it. It’s over. Done. You cannot undo anything, even if it has led to a not so productive or inspiring first day of the New Year. What matters is that you sober up, physically and emotionally, and embrace today, this moment, because every moment of every day is a new moment to begin anew!

I’ve never been one for massive New Year’s Eve celebrations. I prefer instead to relax, recharge and be still with my thoughts. To have no agenda other than to “just be”. I find the practice much more rejuvenating and clarifying. It seems to leave my heart and mind open to suggestions, which due to my relaxed state, find their way into my idea bank.

Everyone has their way of ringing out the old and ringing in the new. A quick scroll through social media and you’ll be inundated with quips and quotes of what others intend on doing. Perhaps the social stroll will spark an idea in your own mind of something you may have forgotten to give attention to.

If you’re short on ideas or inspiration, allow me to share a favorite with you.

Make a Commitment

Make a commitment to make a list of personal and professional goals that you will accomplish in the year ahead, creating a concrete plan with a concrete timeline.

Here is a simple guideline of suggestions:

1. Create two lists, a personal list and a profession list, of everything you’d like to accomplish. Hold nothing back. It’s a brain dump of ideas to bring them to your awareness.
2. Then go through your two lists and highlight the items you feel you can successfully commit to accomplishing in the year ahead. (Even if a few take a bit longer, making a solid start on them will keep the wheels of motivation moving). Write your highlighted items on a new list and call it, “My Commitment to Accomplish” list.
3. Then write down beside each item on your “My Commitment to Accomplish” list realistic steps you need to take to accomplish the task and the date you wish to accomplish them by.
4. To stay super focused and on schedule, re-evaluate your “Commitment to Accomplish” list at the beginning of each month and create a detailed schedule of steps to take daily or weekly to stay on track.

Creating this type of a plan puts everything in front of you in black and white, producing a detailed plan of what you want to stay focused on, how to accomplish it and a specific date for its completion. Think of it as an outline, a blueprint, a business plan toward success. You should put as much time and energy into your blueprint for success as you do taking the steps to reach it. So don’t rush through your list-making just to “get going”.

Be Realistic

Be realistic, though. Creating any kind of plan that is overly scheduled with things to do or things to accomplish is more likely to lead to disappointment. A more realistic plan of commitment allows you to accomplish your goals. If you accomplish more than you had planned, well then you will feel extra exuberant about your accomplishments. But if you make it difficult to succeed by attempting to commit to more than is realistically attainable, your self-esteem will be deflated, you’ll find it hard to stay focused and motivated and your get up and go will have got up and went right down the drain.

So begin now. Sit and relax and be still with your thoughts. Just “be”. Allow your mind to empty out and be open to an organized state and a steady flow of ideas.

I hope you had a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve celebration. But it’s time to shake off the confetti and start cracking the whip! ~ and be sure to put “fun and enjoyment” on your “Commitment to Accomplish” list ~ for as the saying goes, “all work and no play [you fill in the blank]!”
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What ideas or plans have you used in the past to successfully accomplish your goals – especially those crazy ones we all seem to set on New Year’s Eve?