New Year's resolutions...again?

I am resolved to do something differently than I did last year.  Keep my new year's resolutions. Sound familiar?

I know.  We all start with good intentions thinking that the magical turning of the calendar obliterates the past and ushers in a whole new spectrum of opportunity.

Here's the problem.  I have to ask the question, "What has changed about me that will motivate me to do better this year?'  If this is just a familiar place you pitch your tent each January--as I am prone to do--and you are at this place without a plan, you'll probably be camping in the same territory twelve months from now.

That's just how it is with human nature.  And the old adage--"People who fail to plan, plan to fail"-- has a haunting truthfulness to it that experience corroborates more often than not.  At least that's my experience.

So, from the wisened web of my own failures I have managed to identify some things to evaluate in thinking about new year's resolutions.  Read them and decide how serious you are about a fresh start, and realize, even as you try to articulate some meaningful responses, that this can be hard work.

What would I like to be different?
The danger here is to list a bunch of circumstantial things--things over which we have no control--and/or changes in other people, another year I cannot control.  List only things you would change about yourself...this will require some assessment of personal responsibility and painful honesty.

What are my strong points, or, with what am I content?
Think of the things in life which make you most happy, and identify the reasons why.  More often than not they will reflect areas of personal interest and a degree of personal confidence in your contribution and participation.

What are my weaknesses and how do they contribute to my unhappiness or unsettledness?
As I think about the trouble spots in my life, is there a connective link between them and my own behavior or lack of discipline?  Identify those painful things and consider their link to the unhappiness I am experiencing.

How badly do I want to see change?
How painful are these things for me?  How are they hindering my growth and development?  How are they sabotaging my efforts to reach my goals (or, do I have any specific goals?)  What personal effort would I be willing to invest for things to be different?

Where do I start?
Of course, that presumes you want to.  You can experience change with a purpose (for motivation), a plan (for direction), another person (for affirmation)) and positive measureable goals (for evaluation).

I'd be happy to join you in this process.  Contact me today, daleabarrett@gmail.com.