Resolutions, goals and vision boards

It’s January 1st.
Last night my Teen asked us both “What are your resolutions for the new year”? The Garden Gnome and I both simultaneously replied “We don’t make them”.
(On a side note: That is happening so often lately that it scares me. I can be thinking about someone/something and then the Garden Gnome comes out and says exactly what I was thinking. It’s either a really cool thing or kinda creepy. I haven’t worked that one out yet).
So, where was I?
That’s right…

The subject of New Year’s resolutions and the fact that I don’t make them.
I learned long ago that there is no point in saying something like “This year I am going to get fit/lose weight/run a marathon” at the beginning of each year.
Setting goals and taking steps to achieve those goals is something that should be ongoing.
Will I pull out the goals that I have written down and review them today? Yes, I will.
Will I tweak certain aspects of them? Yes, I will.
But I refuse to make ‘resolutions’ on the first of each year only to have them fall by the wayside by the second week of January.
So many people make their resolutions and then throw themselves at their goals with 200% enthusiasm and excitement only to crash and burn. Wouldn’t it be better to set a goal and then break it down into smaller and achievable steps that will ultimately lead to exactly what you want?
Well that is my plan anyway.

I have on-going goals. As part of those goals there were some smaller steps that I wished to achieve before the end of the year. I got close to some of them but didn’t quite make it. So it’s time to review and readjust. I still have the same long term goal. I just need to be more realistic about the steps taken to meet it.

Part of doing that is to redo my vision board for the year and assess what I have accomplished over the past twelve months.
My vision board was filled with things that I wished to do/achieve in the past year. Some I have been able to complete and some will carry forward into this year. My reasons for not achieving them were sometimes outside of my control. It doesn’t mean that the dream is dead, just that the goal posts have moved.

So today I am going to spend quietly with my pad on my lap as I reassess my long term goals and set short term goals to be met by the end of the month. I am going to pull apart my old vision board and create a new one for the coming year. The finished board will sit on my bedside table where I look at it each day and envision a future that holds these dreams.
It is now 2015.
I have a blank book with 365 pages to write on.
One step at a time.