The New Year

I gave up on New Year's Resolutions long ago. I try to consistently assess my life and the direction it is going in order to set goals and begin making positive changes--no matter what day or month of the year it might happen to be. Today I got out my 2006 (I'm turning 30) Life Thoughts and Goals to reveiw which ones I have met and remind myself of those I still have yet to achieve. While I don't think it's necessary to share all my personal stuff, I would like to share the template I used, so that you may use it to prompt your own thoghtful reflection and goal setting...if you'd like! (And remember as you are doing this, it's YOURS--modify and use it as you wish).

First, create a Life Mission Statement: This is just a statement (although mine is 2 statements) that describes what your mission in this life is. Don't worry if you don't know. This might be something you could focus your energy on figuring out this year!

Next, Thoughts about my life currently...
I am thankful for...(I think it's always a good thing to focus on how fulfilled our lives truly are, so I made a list of all that I am thankful for).

Third, create a short list of Short-term Goals (within the next 5 years) you'd like to focus on.

Fourth, create a short list of Long-term Goals (within the next 10-20 years).

Next, focus on the question: Who am I? by finishing the following:

I am...
I'd like to be more...
I need to work on...
I enjoy...

And, you're done! I carry my list in my purse, so I can read it regularly. At this point, I haven't had to modify it, yet. I've reached 1 of my short-term goals, and I'm still working on the other short-term and long term goals. I think it's important to set goals to create some focus and energy in the direction you want to go, but I also know the importance of balancing that with being content just as things are.

Namaste'
Yogagal