New Year's Resolutions for 2013

We sometimes go thru life on automatic. Spending some time each December evaluating how the past year went and making plans to improve your life, to be happier in the next year, is a great way to spend a winter vacation if you turn off the TV.

Our lives have many components: career, social, family, financial, physical health, mental health, and our home.  Take some time to concentrate on each of these areas, list the things you want to improve or change.  If you can't get started easily, then start with listing things you were unhappy or disappointed with in each of these areas. Then list what needs to be done to change things for a better new year.

Career:  Do you enjoy going to work? Do you feel a sense of accomplishment when finishing a task or project?  Are you getting regular raises or more responsibilities?  Are you miserable at work?  Do you dread going to work each day, or going to face a particular fellow employee or boss?

Remember, resolutions work better when they are goals. Goals have to be defined, written down, attainable, and measurable.  Winning the lottery to avoid bankruptcy or working is Not a goal.  "Working harder", "Getting ahead at work", and "Making more money" are not goals.

Instead, polish your computer skills, put your resume on LinkedIn, enhance your skills and abilities, or further your education.  Now to convert these ideas to goals - List the steps you can take to accomplish these ideas or other ideas, and put a time limit on them.  Now you have a goal you can accomplish.

Career Goals for 2013:

January:  1.  Look through library books to find ideas for resumes.

      2.  Rewrite and update your resume. Print a copy, download a copy to a flashdrive and/or your computer.

3. Check with library for classes on newest versions of Word, Excell, and other programs.

February:    1. Sign up on LinkedIn. Enter information on your education, experience, etc.  Clean up your Facebook page (check out what photos you have on there).  

2.  If you learned a foreign language in high school or college and have forgotten most of it, renew your skills. Find a TV channel and/or radio channel in your chosen other language and listen to the language.  Buy, borrow, or check out a book on the language ( I love the "____ in 10 min a day" series).

Okay, I am not going to do all of this for you. You may be an engineer, secretary, cook, or rodeo cowboy so you will have to tailor your goals appropriately.

Just remember, goals have to be precise (definable), attainable (not fantasy), and you have to have a time limit. If not, nothing will be any different next year.   Wasting time is wasting your life. We only have a set amount of time on this earth and no one here knows how long that will be.  Make the most of it by making some plans. Don't wait until you are in your 70's or 80's and then regret not doing something you always wanted to do, or not doing more with your life, or spending more time with your kids.

You have about 3 weeks left in this year. Make next year better, and more fulfilling. Post those resolutions where you can see them everyday and have some fun!