I’ve always been extremely goal-oriented...and aside from the relentless perfectionism and crushing fear of failure, this quality has served me well in life. So as you can imagine, I just love making New Year’s resolutions. Here are some of mine for 2009. What are yours?
- Prioritize my career without feeling guilty about it.
- Finish the Book (Now that I have a publisher, I have 0 excuses and 1 deadline– April 1)
- Write at least 500 words a day, six days a week, until deadline. I will not answer the phone, check e-mail, blog, hang out with friends, or exercise until those 500 words are written. If it takes until noon, great. If it takes until 3 a.m., fine. 500 words. No excuses, no matter what.
- Give my book every chance to succeed by writing it well, listening to my editor and agent, and employing smart marketing strategies.
- Come to terms with the fact that no amount of success will convince me that I’m a good writer or a worthwhile person. I have to believe that for myself.
- Lose the same 10 pounds that I lose every year, only keep them off this time (or at least until my 10-year high school reunion!)
- Speak less and listen more.
- Be more deliberate in initiating friendships with people who are different than me.
- Decide what to do about church.
- Show more compassion to myself and others.
- Treat everyone as my teacher, even those with whom I disagree.
- Think twice before expressing my opinion about something. Decide if it is really necessary or beneficial to do so. (I have a strange feeling that this might result in expressing my opinion less often.)
- Thank Dan every day.
- Spend more time in prayer.
- Actually observe a Sabbath each week.
- Read through The Book of common Prayer.
- When feeling down, do something besides eat or wallow to get over it—read poetry, listen to music, pray, exercise, play guitar hero, go outside, hang out with Dan, send an e-mail to a blog pal, etc.
- Tell myself the truth.
- Represent myself more authentically to others.
- Become just a little more like Jesus, one day at a time.
Tell me about some of your goals for 2009...besides visiting my blog every day, of course! :)
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