It's a New Year.....

Your success and happiness lies in you. 

Resolve to keep happy, 

and your joy and you 

shall form an invincible 

host against difficulties. 

-- Helen Keller

It's that time of year when everyone is trying to decide if they're going to stick to their New Year's Resolutions. Gyms are still filled with people who have resolved to get fit, Nicorette gum is probably the best selling gum in the country, and office organizing supplies are flying off the shelves as we start sorting through last year's files and making a new plan for saving all those important records in 2013!

I usually try to set one or two goals for the new year, and they almost always involve being healthier, but it's very easy to forget those kinds of resolutions by the time the first boxes of Valentine's chocolates show up in stores!  (By the way, does that happen earlier every year?)

Nevertheless, shortly before the new year began I was visiting with my brother who was finishing up a project because it was one of his resolutions for 2012 and he wanted to get it checked off the list before the year ended.  Further questioning revealed that he actually makes a list of 10 resolutions to keep during each new year.  Most of them, he reported, are not "that big of a deal."

He lists achievable goals that even though they seem inconsequential, can make his, or someone else's life a little easier, or better.  For example, one of his resolutions from 2012 was to stop leaving newspapers laying around.  Some others have included keeping the inside of his truck cleaner, having his garden soil tested, saying "hello" more often, and giving up snack cupcakes. (I think Hostess helped him out with that one!)

For 2013, he has looked back over his lists from the last ten years and figured he had achieved roughly 60% of the goals he'd set, so he took the first 10 resolutions from past lists that were left unaccomplished and has set out to accomplish those things in 2013.  

Another friend of mine picks one word and focuses on that word for the entire year.  For 2012 her "focus word" was Courage.  Throughout that year, as she faced changes in her job, home improvement projects and life, in general,  her focus on courage gave her additional strength to press on!  

For 2013, her "focus word" is Less.  An interesting choice.

Less?  

Yes.

Less time wasted,  less clutter,  less money spent on things that don't matter, 10 pounds less weight, etc. 

What a great idea! 

My word for 2013 is Happiness.  I hope to take the words of Helen Keller to heart and find a little joy in every day!

My challenge to you is to look at the goals you've set for 2013. Whether it's a list of small achievable things, one really big thing,  or simply a  focus on a particular virtue or word, I wish you the best in accomplishing what you set out to achieve!

Blessings!

Sharon