This past Tuesday night, there
were celebrations around the world to ring in 2014. Articles were written about the various highlights
(determined by the press) of 2013 and good wishes at the success of following
through on our resolutions. There are a
lot of books that talk about going into the New Year, making this year your
best year and writing down your goals.
The physical writing of goals, I completely understand, as there is a
psychological component that once we write something down, we feel compelled to
follow through and make it true.
However, as I sit here thinking about what I would like to accomplish in
2014, I have a feeling of déjà vu…that I sat in a similar thinking position 2
months ago as my birthday approached contemplating what I wanted to accomplish
in my 52nd year.
How much of our time do we
spend thinking about what we are going to do?
And how many times during the year do we “start” the process? Goal setting is an important activity to
determine the actions we will take. But there
is always the chance of being in a state of “paralysis by analysis” and
accomplishing nothing. I have to confess
that I am as guilty as the next person in some cases of spending too much time “thinking
things out”. There is a great
motivational speech by Art Williams, titled “Do It.” This speech is easy to find on the internet,
so if you have not seen it yet, this would be a good opportunity to watch
it. Basically, he implores the people he
is in front of to not just talk about what they want to do, but to just do it,
and do it until you are finished, then do it some more.
The most popular New Year’s
resolutions are to go on a diet and to join a gym. Everyone is most excited about these two
things for all of 2 weeks then it is back to the same old-same old. Besides, when you get down to it, going on a
diet means that at some point you are going off the diet. Why not make the resolution to change the way
you eat and move towards a healthier life style? The actions that you wish to take should come
with intentionality. Remember, a
commitment is something that you do long after the mood you said it in has left
you. For me, I am always striving for
personal growth / development and moving towards becoming a better person and
touching people in a positive manner, regardless of where we are in the year.
What are you looking to
accomplish in 2014? As a lead into next week’s
topic, why do you think that we need to make New Year’s resolutions? Please share your thoughts below…
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