Has 2011 Changed Anything In Your Life?
[This is part of the Starting 2011 Off Right series]
She wakes up two hours earlier than she normally would. The alarm is screaming and her body is begging for those two hours. She pulls herself out of bed and grabs what she needs: a pair of shorts, a gray t-shirt, comfortable (but old) socks, some sneakers, and a towel. It is January 3rd and she is on her way to the gym for the first time in almost a year.
Does the word resolution make your skin crawl? It does for me. I get the image of men and women greedily mobbing overpriced gyms to sign up for memberships they will never use. If that hits too close to home you may want to reconsider that gym membership you have been mulling over.
History shows that most New Year’s resolutions will be dropped by Valentine’s Day. In about a month, most of us will give up whatever dream we had for 2011. Why? Because resolutions are dreams, not goals.
2011 is a big year for me. I am calling it The Year of Massive Change. I get married April 16th, I no longer have school to go to, I am starting a business, it is my first debt free year, and so much more.
Starting a year like this is daunting. I don’t know what to expect. Will everything go well? Will everything fall apart? What will be successful and what will fail? The uncertainty is terrifying!
I am left with two choices: 1) I can make a few rash resolutions and hope for the best or 2) I can set realistic – yet challenging – goals and work through my year with a plan.
Obviously I am going with the second choice.
There are three stages to planning out the year:
Look Back is where you review 2010. What went well? What went poorly? Are you who you wanted to be?
Set Goals is where you create a plan for 2011. What do you want to accomplish? How will you get there? Is it even possible?
Do Something is where you get out there and start working! Take the first steps to accomplish your goals and define your life by them.
This is my plan in a nut shell. I will show you how I worked through the three stages over the next few posts. Until then, hold off on that gym membership. It will still be there February 15th.
What will be different about your life in 2011? Let me know in the comments.
Brandon (132)
Loren Pinilis (109)
Mike Luna (103)
ixnayonthetimmay (83)
Dustin (78)
moe (63)
Don Sartain (59)
Pastor Matt (36)
JeniferR (30)
Adam (20)
ok well, i have 2 resolutions, well more like life challenges. the last few years have been more about taking for me. i worked for me. gained for me. get it. so this year my 1st challenge is, to give a lot more. give of my-self, talents, friendship, time, money… ect.
2nd big challenge, if i do something for God, i want to go all out. go for broke!
thanks for this Alex, you truly have hindsight and foresight for people and their callings. Keep it up, i got yo back hommie
much love & many blessings!
I like, Josa! I do! Can’t wait to see how you respond to my Thursday post!
Big year for me. I’m gonna be a Best Man.
Which reminds me, I need to get my cape dry cleaned.
what color cape? I needs to match!
Well, that depends. I was going to go with a black cape with white lining. Or I could go with something sportier, like red with black lining. Since your wedding is near Easter, I could also go with pastels.
I don’t know. I have so many capes it’s hard to choose just one.
How about a light blue?
I have a Sky Blue with Baby Duckling Yellow lining. That has a kind of spring weekend sort of flair to it.
Great post! The fact that the maj. of resolutions will be dropped by Valentine’s Day is a true fact. The reason being because people do not take the necessary steps to achieve their goals.
By the way– I recently met my goal for 2011! To buy a tube amp for my guitar! It is coming in tonight,a dn I will blog about it tomorrow! Can’t wait to hear its beautiful sound!
Nice Brandon! How did you get the money together so quickly?