Hi. So tonight is New Year’s Eve and I’ve still got a few hours to make good on a 2010 promise that I made to myself. Life got a bit extra busy for me the past few months and blogging was not a focus of my attention, something had to give. When I noticed the year winding down, I pledged to post one more time in December…cutting it a bit close, wouldn’t you say? If you are reading this blog, then maybe you understand that it often takes a looming deadline to spark that extra bit of adrenaline and relevant brain chemicals that help get something accomplished.
This time of year we are inundated by columnists proposing lists of how to make lists of resolutions. Most contain at least a few good ideas. As we get (older and) wiser, perhaps like me, you have come to realize that it is up to each individual to pick and choose what advice to embrace and what advice just doesn’t match our skill set.
Let’s face it, if it has TOO many steps, TOO many rules and should’s, it’s just not gonna happen. WHO can sustain the motivation to wait three months to see reults of a new diet, or even three weeks to establish a new ‘habit’?!
Last evening, a friend asked me how my blog was going. My response was something like what I just said above. She smiled, knowingly, and said (paraphrasing) “How about if you just wrote one line like what you just said.” Yikes, I wish that I could remember exactly what brilliant quote I had just uttered, but it was something like this, “It’s all about the process, not the product. All I have to do is write SOMETHING! Just one line would be sufficient to fulfill my committment to post before the end of the year.”
So here it is folks. This is my one line. With kudos and apologies to my fellow ADHD bloggers and professional organizers…just do it. Ok, thanks to Nike too. Seriously, this is what I believe.
You’re never ready for what you are about to do.
You just do it. That makes you ready.
In case you still are craving more detailed guidance, click here to read what Leo Babauta has to say on the subject of setting goals. What he writes is suitable for greeting the New Year or any time at all. Pay special attention to #11 on his list of further reading: Don’t Worry So Much About Long-term Goals. Focus on the process, not the end point. Sound familiar?
Best wishes to all for a fabulous new year filled with joy and accomplishment, love and laughter.
Debbie~
I love the reminder to focus on the process. Setting daily intentions of WHO we will be is far more productive than setting goals we may or may not achieve. Plus, if we don’t shift the WHO it’s not likely we will change the WHAT. So I ask you, WHO will you be this year? How would you like to show up in the world. These are my New Year’s resolutions. Thank you for keeping this perspective alive.
Debbie: Great insights! One of my fave books on cultivating the writing habit is “One Continuous Mistake” by Gail Sher. –Lynn
Day by day, Debbie Dear! LOVED THIS POST and hope that it is seen, read and appreciated by many! Happy 2011 to you!
Debbie: So glad that you decided to attain your goal. It doesn’t matter how close to the deadline you were when you reached it, it just matters that you did. I hope that 2011 is a year of reaching goals and enjoying fulfillment.
— Cindy