Goals for 2010

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I used to, and they used to consist of the usual promises to eat better, work out more, get better organized, live more in the present, blah blah blah…

And then, of course, by mid January or at the latest February, half of those are forgotten, the rest lost in the daily activity of life.

New Year’s Resolutions are sort of a running joke, anyway, aren’t they? Everyone makes them, just so they can break them it seems. And why wait until January 1^st (well, technically 2^nd, because nobody starts on the first because it’s a holiday, right?) to make changes in your life? What’s wrong with December 21^st? Or July 15^th? October 10^th?

It just all seems so silly to me.

And yet, there is something inspiring and refreshing about the start of a New Year that makes you want to take control of your life, and make things happen. It’s true, silly or not, January 1^st holds a certain significance for new beginnings.

So, I decided that I would take advantage of this feeling, but not fall victim to the uselessness of resolutions.

Instead, I make plans, I have GOALS for the coming year.

It’s so much more productive for me to focus on actions I plan to take, instead of a “vague” idea of what I will and will not do.

That said, here are some of my “GOALS” for 2010:

1. Finish that novel – Yep, this is a lofty one, but I have all year to work on it. In winning “NaNoWriMo”, I accomplished 75% of this novel. This leaves me a full year to write the remaining 25% and focus on the editing process. Winning “NaNoWriMo” also provided me with a free “printing” of my manuscript, and I have until June to use that, so, this gives me a deadline of June to have a “working” manuscript done, so I can then focus on how in the world I’m finally going to get my work published. I can do this. I will do this. The goal is not so much to get it published as it is to make this novel a daily part of my life.

2. Stay healthy – that’s it. No crazy “lose this much” or “go to the gym this many times per week” scheme that is sure to fail. Just stay on the path I set for myself two years ago, and continue the daily exercise of focusing on being healthy. There is weight to be lost, and then maintained, and there is a goal for being at the gym regularly, but these are things I already focus on, and not some big resolution. The goal is simply to continue on my path.

3. Put God ahead of everything – if I’ve learned anything in the last few years, it is that without God in my life, things always make less sense. And yet, for some reason, I let the rest of my life overshadow this one most important relationship. I’m getting better at it, and I just hope to continue on this faith journey with my priorities straight.

4. De-clutter – and by that I mean EVERYTHING. My closets, my drawers, my computer files, my Twitter and FaceBook accounts, my toxic friendships, my calendar, my mind. Good grief there is too much STUFF everywhere. I need to simplify.

And finally:

5. Fall In Love. What? It can happen. If I put it on the list, then I’m putting out there in the universe. So, there you have it.

What are your goals and plans for 2010?