Thank God It’s 2010

Well, another year has passed taking with it the first decade of the new millennium. I can’t say that I’m sad to see it go. 2009 was particularly challenging for me as it was for millions of others. The new century started off with so much promise. It’s a shame that its first decade ended so disappointingly.

But I will not complain. Instead, I choose to appreciate those hard times. I’ve learned in the last month that while good times bring us the most joy, bad times bring us the greatest opportunities for growth. By experiencing circumstances that were less than ideal, I learned what I didn’t want. And learning what I didn’t want helped me figure out the kind of life I wanted to create which in turned has led to a refining of my goals.


I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year because I didn’t want to start a new decade following old patterns of failure. Let’s face it. Many of us make so many resolutions every year only to forget about them or give up before we even make it to the end of the month. For me, I would just simply allow myself to be bowled over by the first major challenge I faced; one of the many reasons why I have not advanced as far as I probably should have in life.

This year, I’m going to do something different. There are some things that I would like to accomplish. However, instead of approaching my goals with the same do or die mentality I have been using in years past, I’m going to let my goals manifest in their own time based on small steps I take each day.

Because I’m a personal development junkie, I would always follow the advice to set large goals and put a deadline on them. Personal development experts argued that setting large goals stimulates our imagination to look for ways to accomplish that goal and setting a time limit prevents us from procrastinating. I think this works for everyone else, except for me.

The first problem with this strategy is that I don’t like deadlines, even self imposed ones, because it’s an area of my life that is full of failure. And though I’ve gotten a lot better about meeting deadlines over the years, this is an area that produces a lot of frustration and angst inside me. Whenever I’m confronted with a time limit, all I can see is the certainty of failure which is not exactly the best motivational vision you want motivating you.

The second problem is that I would pick goals that went beyond the reach of my belief. If I didn’t think that I was able to achieve the goal, I didn’t take it serious enough to put in the effort needed to accomplish it. I think the problem here was I didn’t have the track record needed to justify the new belief so it wouldn’t stick and I would fail to achieve the goal.

This year I’m going to take Ben Settle’s advice and think small. I’m going to focus on accomplishing small goals that will, in turn, snowball into the achievement of my big goals. I want to break it down into daily tasks. I feel I have a greater chance of success by taking this route than I would setting a timer on a big dream. And I think the achievement of small daily goals will build the confidence I need to tackle larger goals down the road.

My ultimate goal is to live the life I want rather than follow a path directed by others. Thus 2010 for me is going to be dedicated to exploration, experimentation, learning and growth. I want to see what is out there, what’s possible and, if I want it, learn how to bring in the realm of my reality. Most of all, I want to discover who I am as a person.

So here’s to a new decade. May it bring an unlimited supply of possibilities.

(photo credit: icanhazcheezburger.com)

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