I love a new year, new month, new week, new day. I can’t help but get all excited about the possibilities! I’m definitely among those that like to start a new challenge at the beginning of something – except that one time I gave up dessert for the rest of the month…that one I started immediately because you’ve got to check yourself before you wreck yourself – and there’s just something special about a new year and a clean slate.

I often refer to life as a book and encourage everyone not to let anyone else hold the pen and today…the entire 2017 chapter of your life is completely unwritten. So the question is….what do you want to write about? You might already have some things penciled into the outline of your year like a vacation or wedding or school or a deadline, but the memories of those events are still to be determined. You might know the who, what, where, when and why, but those are minor details in the stories you’re going to tell your grandkids about those events one day. The next question is…how interesting do you want those stories to be?

Me? I’d like them to be as entertaining as possible with lots of twists and turns and moments that make your jaw drop. I want my grandkids to think I made this stuff up and ask their parents if it really happened, but what do they know. They’re not even born yet!

Last year, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish in an attempt to make it my most productive year ever. I challenged myself to think big, bigger than I had ever dreamed before and I wrote all sorts of stuff down – like learning how to fly! (airplanes…not Peter Pan magic…although that would be cool) Some times, we are so wrapped up in the mundane daily tasks of our lives that we just need to take a break and think about what it is we actually want to do with our time and the experiences we want to have. So take a moment – or several – and think about it and then write it down.

No idea or goal is too small or too silly or too ambitious. These are YOUR goals. They can be whatever you want them to be! Remember, YOU are holding the pen! What do you want to write about and how interesting do you want it to be?

Even if you don’t accomplish it this year – or can’t as some things require more time – you can at least get it on your radar and start putting things in motion to make it happen. At the very least, having it on your list will be a reminder every time you look at it that these are the things you want to be doing with your life! Watching The Price is Right – although I do love that show – or getting sucked into the social media vortex for hours at a time – an addiction I have to fight off on a daily basis – or anything else that is a non-essential waste of time keeps you from doing the things you really want to do. Having your goals and dreams written down somewhere is a great way to remind yourself to take action towards achieving them.

Think about it…do you want to tell your grandkids about that ridiculously cute cat video you saw on Facebook 40 years ago or about the time you went cliff jumping off some remote island on your epic Caribbean cruise?

You hold the pen….make 2017 the best chapter yet!

🙂