Happy New Year!

I love New Year’s Eve and Day. I love the music specials that are televised, the dropping of the ball in Times Square, the Rose Bowl Parade, and yes, the football games!! Family and friends gather to bring in the New Year and to celebrate life together. I make a traditional pot of black eyed peas. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day assures good luck for the upcoming year (so the tradition says). Everyone eats at least one pea (my kids don’t like them, but they will eat at least one pea. I don’t think it takes a full bowl to get the benefit of the good luck!!!)

I take time to reflect on the year that has just passed and dream of and set goals for the year ahead. As an avid goal writer, I do, indeed, write my goals for the year to come. I carry them with me so that I can continuously evaluate progress being made (or not!!). With faithful review and evaluation throughout the year, I can keep myself on course.

Sometimes adjustments need to be made to the action plan. That’s ok. It’s better to adjust that to quit. Sometimes a goal that I have set is eliminated from my plans. It may not fit anymore or may not be important, so it is eliminated, if appropriate. But, for the most part, I have either reached each goal or have made progress toward it. Certain goals are long term, and so it becomes important to establish both timelines and deadlines. The timelines are the interim steps that need to be accomplished in order to go to the next phase. The deadline is the absolute time when a goal is to be completed.

As a part of my New Year’s celebration, I do a final review of the goals of the past year. Then, in a few quiet moments that I carve out of the day, I write new goals for the upcoming year. It’s fun, thought-provoking, and energizing.

Research shows that setting and working toward goals is effective in controlling stress, managing time, giving one a sense of accomplishment and organization, increasing productivity and personal income, offsetting procrastination, and is motivational. So, why not?
Consider writing your goals: personal, professional, spiritual. It’s a New Year. Perhaps this is a good time for you to include this healthy practice into your life. Write goals that will make your 2016 the best year ever.

Happy New Year.