2014

It is New Year's Eve, a holiday that I adore.  I'm a new-year super-geek.  Even home with only a sleeping five-month-old and a glass of champagne, missing my husband and feeling a smidge lonely, I still love the new year.  It is a holiday of closure but also possibilities, and I especially love possibilities. Everything is all fresh and tidy and optimistic again.  A new year feels like a free pass to try and do things better this time, even if it wasn't great last time.

I like making goals (much more positive than "resolutions", in my opinion).  I dislike the news stories  I've heard this week which lament the overall failure of resolutions; I am certain we achieve what we truly mean to achieve in the course of year. My goal lists from past years, with all of their markings and charts and tracking sheets, prove this. People fail at their resolutions because they don't commit to the next steps.  The chasm between desired outcomes and starting points requires doing the work:  putting one foot in front of the other, more days than not. More interesting news stories would be stories of resolution success.

Sometimes I proclaim my goals to the universe, but this year, my one big goal shall remain relatively private, mostly because I feel shy and a little nervous about it. This violates one of my goal-achievement beliefs, which is that making it public keeps you accountable.  I have told those few folks who are on a need-to-know basis but otherwise I'm playing it close to the vest for now.  I know those people will help to keep me honest, and I know what I need to do.  Or at least, or I know where to start and I have a vague notion of what I need to do.

I have also noticed in the past that I, like most, probably, work on the goals that feel most comfortable and approachable, more than the ones that feel less natural and more forced.  The good news is that as a result, some of my past goals, especially ones that include food and exercise, have become more habitual. Therefore, I feel that I can relax the pressure on those a bit this year in order to give energy to that which feels harder right now.

So, if I only make one uncomfortable scary goal, what will happen?

Wait and see.

Happy 2014!