With great anticipation, the New Year is finally here! The promise of a new adventure and all the excitement are always enough to put a little pep in my step. But this year, I’m doing things a little different.
Typically, the ending of a year sparks a lot of lofty goals; eat less meat, plan more vacations, practice more yoga, go to bed early, save more money; my list is often long and all-encompassing. And most likely, you have a list of your own.
Well, it’s time to get real about that list. Instead of hitching our desires to a list of hopes and promises we make in haste once a year, how about we ground them to who we consistently know ourselves to be all year long? The idea here is simple. Seeing our goals as an expansion of what we already know versus starting something lofty and new new will not only give you the know how to move forward, but it will provide the perfect amount of oomph to get you moving.
So, if this year your goal is to finally pick paint a more vibrant color for your otherwise white walls; keep in mind, you’ve been choosing colors all along when you pick out your wardrobe every morning. Or, if this is the year to follow your dreams and start a home business, keep in mind, you’ve already spent years supporting someone else’s professional dream. Or, if this year you vow to organize that mystery room in your house; keep in mind, when you get out of bed every morning, make coffee and find your way to the front door; you’re the one who organized your life so all that could happen.
Regardless of your personal or professional intentions this year, I invite you to see the similarity between the skill set required to accomplish your 2013 goals and the skill sets you’ve already mastered elsewhere in your life. Connecting these dots will bring you the instant confidence you need in order to take the first and last steps. After all, how can you fail at something in which you already succeeded?
As the Chinese proverb says… ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’. I say… ‘You’ve known how to fish all along’. What are you waiting for?
If you’ve yet to make your list, now is the time. Start by answering the following question:
What will be different about your life this time next year?
I’d love to hear in the comment below.
Until next time…
I want to maximize a small space. So I have decided to use shelves, hooks and perhaps dividers to set off a space. Thanks Mark thinking internally does give you the sight to forsee outwardly. 508 days ago
Your blog is very inspiring. My husband and I built our house 15 years ago and every wall, save one, is still white (the one that IS painted doesn’t look good either)….I am going to spend a lot of time this year getting my house “in order”. Step one is to buy your book this week!
Have a wonderful New Year 
508 days ago
Thanks for always giving us encouragement! Happy New Year to you and yours! 508 days ago
Mark thank you for weaving such a beautifully conscious and aware message into this. We are who we are waiting for! Even if it’s painting the walls. We already possess what it takes! Waking up to who we are is key.
So empowering to realize it and put it into action. 508 days ago
Thank you, Mark – you show all of your readers your own true colors with each message you send. What a rainbow you are! 508 days ago
Good one, Mark. I’m actually heading to Honduras in a few weeks, to help build a school, so I’ve very excited with that. I’ve already been renovating and reorganizing/redecorating my church and the church offices…throwing out years of “donations”…a.k.a. clutter. So, my new year’s resolution? Charity begins at home. For every hour I work on the church, I’ll work an hour on rebuilding my home…then I’ll be able to decorate! Tough to decorate, when you have no walls…although that hasn’t stopped me! 508 days ago
Great advice, Mark. My goal for this year is to minimize, minimize, minimize. Too much “stuff” means a lot of responsibility in taking care of that “stuff”. Soooooo, I want to limit the amount of “stuff” in order to maximize my time. What say you? 508 days ago
Here are my 2012 goals:
1. Go back to School
2. Save $10,000 for TTFL In China
3. Remodel my bathrooms
4. Expand my business 507 days ago
We are moving to another apartment complex. This one is getting to dangeous. In moving I will be giving a lot of things away. 506 days ago
Focusing on my family & myself this year… doing less volunteering for others & more for myself. Sometimes charity starts at home & mine is a mess! 506 days ago
Another inspiring post, thank you so much Mark!
My goals:
wake up a half hour earlier every day–
keep my space open, clean and organized so that I can work without confusion
Nothing new comes into the house unless two old things go out! 506 days ago
This year, I’m clearing out the clutter … in me as well as around me. I want to live my life rather than spend it devoted to the care and feeding of my “stuff”…. I’m tired of feeling guilty for going and doing because I need to be in my home cleaning and organizing or otherwise dealing with too much stuff … I’m clearing out the clutter of doubt, fear, insecurity and replacing it with love, hope, joy, faith and friends. I will keep things that have purpose or make me happy, otherwise they can go provide that same function to someone else, somewhere else. 506 days ago
I started early with my New Year Goals. I have wanted to go back to school for years and last month I went for it! Thanks to Mark, his wonderful ideas, encouragement in all phases of design, and inspsiration I am in Interior Design School something I have dreamed of doing for a long, long time. I want to work with psychologists who specialize in OCD and hoarding. The first time I saw the show Hoarders I was hooked. The people who can make it through cleaning out their homes deserve something that looks nice, not just “de-hoarded” My hope is that by . My first class is Color Theory and it is fascinating!!! Another goal for this year is to achieve nothing less than a B+ in any given class. I will of
course strive for all A’s but don’t want to set too lofty a goal for not having been in school for 30 years. That is enough for this year. 505 days ago
I started early with my New Year Goals. I have wanted to go back to school for years and last month I went for it! Thanks to Mark, his wonderful ideas, encouragement in all phases of design, and inspsiration I am in Interior Design School something I have dreamed of doing for a long, long time. I want to work with psychologists who specialize in OCD and hoarding. The first time I saw the show Hoarders I was hooked. The people who can make it through cleaning out their homes deserve something that looks nice, not just “de-hoarded” My hope is that by helping them create that space it will encourage them to continue therapy and keep it that way. My first class is Color Theory and it is fascinating!!! Another goal for this year is to achieve nothing less than a B+ in any given class. I will of course strive for all A’s but don’t want to set too lofty a goal for not having been in school for 30 years. That is enough for this year. 505 days ago
My goal for next year is to get my living and family rooms (which are in an open-concept floor plan with the dining area connecting them) coordinated and organized in such a way that. they flow with more continuity. Color is my world and I don’t do bland, so the key is for me to balance the colors and accessories to ensure that the spaces are peacefully invigorating rather than a cacophony of clash. 502 days ago
I have specific goals and give myself one year to make them happen. A deadline motivates me. I want to enclose the outside shower, add bench seating around volleyball court, make a decision on drapes throughout the house and finally put up wall hangings still sitting on the floor! No more excuses! 502 days ago
I have made the same resolution each year for the last three years. I am on a mission to find the best peach marguerita. This has been a great way to ensure that my hubby and I take a date night each month. I have had a lot of delicious peach margueritas throughout our commuity! It has been the best resolution I have ever made! And, every year- Success! 494 days ago