Design your year

It’s a new year. Whoopidoo. Hopes for a new start are dashed by headlines. Or are they?
Ads scream New Year! New You! New President! They yell for changing more than calendar pages. Smart women flex with the times. They adjust here and shift there. Knowing where you’re headed and designing your platform give the foundation to be solid and grounded regardless of what happens.
Answering these questions will set you up for a new you in this new year.
Smart women make their own rules. 2009 is the year to make your new rules. Here’re some questions to think about as you make your rules.
What are your three main goals to accomplish this year? What’s important about them? How will your life change because you met them?
What one thing can you do that brings out the best you? Is it to join the gym and actually use it to firm up flabby arms and jelly belly?
What change can you make that will improve your life right now? Is it to clean out your closet, fix the broken drawer, clean the winter debris off the garden?
What change do you have to make? When does it need to be done? Probably the sooner the better.
Where can you lighten up?
What skill do you need to improve or develop?
How can you put more fun in 2009? Perhaps a regular date night, a monthly night out with the girls, going to a new place for dinner, wear a pin upside down and see who notices, wade in a fountain, join a book club.
How can you do more of what you love to do? My favorite is laughing. Try it: laugh a good ole hard belly laugh til your jaws and sides hurt because you laughed so hard.
What are you excited about?
What wacky, crazy thing do you want to do? This is the year to do it so get going.
Who can help you? While this life is do-it-yourself, it isn’t a do-it-alone job.
And finally if you had a theme for 2009, besides tie a knot on your rope and hold on, what would it be? Ask your teammates at work to pick one for the department and listen to an energizing conversation.
What do you want to be able to say at year end about your life this year? It’s a new year, new you and new times never experienced before. Design your year. Go for it.

The best Sunday afternoon

It was cold, damp and windy. I needed to think and plan. Believe it or not, playing golf and walking are the best places for me to do this. Being a fair weather golfer only, walking was the choice. Two laps around the Vita Trail was enough time to do my mental work. Proud was I, and sleepy.
At home, my bed waited, calling 'take a nap'. So I did. I'm not one to struggle and resist good invitations. What a fabulous way to reward myself for a productive planning session in the wind. It was the best Sunday afternoon.

The Mistake of the Day

Today I made a mistake. So what’s the big deal? It meant that I couldn’t deliver what’s promised to members of the Smart Woman’s Club. That means I'm out of integrity.
A radio announcer get gigged by a listener on some wrong information he gave. The announcer said with greatly amplified sound “The mistake of the day.” In his regular voice he continued “Glad that’s over with. Now I won’t worry about messing up today. It’s out of the way.”
So today I messed up big time. I confess. I own it. I’m so glad that it’s out of my way. I apologize for not keeping my word.
Everyone makes mistakes. My 2009 theme calls for making bold moves which open me up for making more mistakes. Mistakes mean that I’m doing new things, growing and out of my comfort zone. Yikes.
Let’s raise a glass to being uncomfortable and doing new things, even the mistake of the day.