New Beginnings

This year not only resolve to make changes, do it. Set goals for 2004 and thereafter. Short term goals are easier to follow through with if they are part of a long term plan.

I recommend goal setting by doing the following simple exercise. Sit down with pen, paper and something to relax you (wine works well). Write down at the top of the page the year you will turn eighty and how old your children will be in that year. Next ask yourself these three very pointed questions which target your physical, emotional and financial well being:

What kind of physical health do I wish to have?
What kind of relationship do I wish to have?
What kind of financial situation do I wish to have?

Thinking about your children will ground you. After having answered these inquiries at age eighty go backwards in five year intervals and ask yourself these same questions. Do this until you get within five years and make the same personal inventory on an annual basis. When you are within one year question yourself every three months.

What you want at age eighty can dictate what you do today. The New Year’s resolutions you make in 2004 should have components in three months, one year, five years and thirty plus years. If this type of planning seems overwhelming then start on a more personalized scale. Begin by asking yourself a few basic questions:

Who am I?
What do I stand for?
What do I want my legacy to be?

Each night before bed look in the mirror and then write down something about yourself that you like. Tell yourself you can’t go to bed until you find that something. The next morning review what you’ve written and jot down something you intend to risk that day. At the end of the day check it off your list if you’ve mastered it and if not, make it the next day’s goal.

With these activities you will begin to establish the core of who you are and set up a plan for living that you can nurture with each new year’s resolution.