A new you in the new year

These very last days of the year are a great time to review and look at the pros and cons of the year, to prepare ourselves for a better future or to improve ourselves. It’s good to take a little time to look back and evaluate what has happened, what we have accomplished and decide what else we can do.

I get excited when a new year comes. It means new promises, a fresh start to brand new projects, a new look at ongoing assignments, a bright beginning to incomplete work and a time to reconsider goals and choose priorities. I like making New Year’s resolutions even though they’re hard to keep. If you want to achieve your goals, a plan is a must.

A friend of mine told me that “it’s time to make a new resolution, and once again we get ready to be disappointed by our inability to stick to our pledges.” I think it’s only possible to have positive results if you have the right approach to the resolution process. “The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live other than according to the demands of our conscience not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life,” says Leo Tolstoy. First, we must be convinced of the necessity of our goal and believe we need that resolution to make an essential change.

To help us stick to our promises, Steve Siebold, a world-class Mental Toughness coach, says in his book “177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class” that:

“Get a resolution.

Make a motivation board.

Know it won’t be easy.

Cut out the negative talk.

Forget what other people think.

Be honest.”

How was 2012 for you? Would you describe it as good or bad?  Are you hopeful for what 2013 will bring for your family and the country?  Personally, 2012 wasn’t too bad for me. I accomplished most of my 2012 goals. Yet, I couldn’t complete a few of my top ones.

Wall Street Journal columnist Elizabeth Bernstein suggests making a New Year’s resolution with someone you love and trust. She points out: “Most of us could use help achieving our goals. Who better to tell us how to improve ourselves than someone who knows us well -- perhaps better than we know ourselves -- and even may be all too happy to offer up some tough love? And if we promise to check in regularly with this person to discuss our progress, we’ll probably do a much better job of keeping our resolutions.” Thus, I decided to make my New Year’s resolutions for 2013 with you.

1. Take care of my health.

2. Get more organized to be on the

right track to reach my goals.

3. Clean up desk, house and address

book based on the priorities of your daily life.

4. Don’t complain. Instead,

take action to change things.

5. Eat less and exercise more.

6. Do more volunteer work

to help the community.

7. Finish up incomplete projects

before starting new ones.

8. Don’t say “I wish,” say “I will.”

9. Stick to New Year’s resolutions.

10. Never forget that today might

be the last day of your life, and that it’s the

first day of the rest of your life.

Most of us don’t keep the purpose of our lives front and center as we decide how to spend our time, talents and energy. Actually, choosing how you use your resources eventually determines how you shape your life. Thus, it’s good to make a resolution to remind ourselves of our priorities.

Have you written a New Year’s resolution for yourself? If you haven’t written it yet, it’s about time to write it now. “A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder,” said Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle. Remember, a dream is not a goal until it is written. I hope you can write one and stick with it to have a happy new year filled with peace, prosperity and joy. Happy 2013!