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?

1. Prioritize my career without feeling guilty about it.
2. Finish the Book (Now that I have a publisher, I have 0 excuses and 1 deadline– April 1)
3. 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.
4. Give my book every chance to succeed by writing it well, listening to my editor and agent, and employing smart marketing strategies.
5. 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.
6. 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!)
7. Speak less and listen more.
8. Be more deliberate in initiating friendships with people who are different than me.
9. Decide what to do about church.
10. Show more compassion to myself and others.
11. Treat everyone as my teacher, even those with whom I disagree.
12. 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.)
13. Thank Dan every day.
14. Spend more time in prayer.
15. Actually observe a Sabbath each week.
16. Read through The Book of common Prayer.
17. 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.
18. Tell myself the truth.
19. Represent myself more authentically to others.
20. 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! :)