“The purpose of Knowledge is ACTION.” ~ John Kalench

3 days before 2010 and I was asked what my New Year’s resolutions for the upcoming year are. Do you know what yours are? Do you know what your 2010 goals are too? How about your Intentions? And what is the difference anyway?!

“New Year’s Resolutions” are outlined as “a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous”.*

“Goals” are the result or achievement towards which effort is directed.**

And “Intentions” are the purpose or attitude towards an act; or deciding mentally upon some action or result.**

These days, if people make New Year’s resolutions (aka “NYR”) at all, they have given up on them within the first week of January. I read a great piece by Suze Orman in my favorite ‘O’ magazine - when Suze was asked last year by Oprah what her NYR was, she answered going to the gym every day. She was already going to the gym daily and yet as soon as she named that as her NYR she wound up going quite sporadically and then within a few short weeks she stopped going to the gym altogether! Sound familiar?? If you have a history of not completing your NYR then do what works: stop making them!!

For me, I do Dreams Lists for the year - things way out there that are deep desires, longings - without any idea of how they may come about. I write them down in specific areas (juicy details are important!!) like:

• health
• education and self-growth
• finances
• travel and lifestyle
• career or business
• relationships (intimate, secondary, friends, work)
• alone time
• spirituality
• sexuality and sensuality
• personal development
• recreation
• creativity and hobbies
• contribution (time, money etc)
• car
• home
• wardrobe

Then I set a clear intention that I will accomplish these dreams… nothing dramatic or complicated, just a conversation with myself that this is what I am up to - underlying all of my daily ins and outs, this is what I am ultimately unfolding in my world.

Next comes breaking the year down into Quarters. I choose 3 areas and set quarterly goals one quarter at a time… action commitments for the next 3 months that will move me closer to reaching that dream - this is a commitment that I am making to myself (and my weekly success partner); items that have S.M.A.R.T.*** characteristics:

S - specific - juicy details!
M - measurable - so someone can tell from the outside looking in that it was done
A - achievable - under MY control
R - realistic - we tend to over-estimate accomplishments in the short-term & vastly under-estimate in the long-term
T - time sensitive - has a deadline

Whatever you call them, I HIGHLY recommend that you cast your visions for 2010 in writing. There is magic, power and genius in putting your desires onto paper.

Here are a couple of things to remember when writing:

• write with a positive tone
• write in present time, as if the item has already occurred
• be as specific and succinct as possible
• write about yourself - you cannot change others
• use your own words! your own everyday language is way more powerful then using big words that sound impressive
• be brave - write down your deepest desires, even if you have never said them out-loud to anyone before or have no idea how they could happen
• write with as open a heart as possible

These are great ideas but, as Caroline Myss says, it is nothing but watered down hopes without ACTION (see Quotes: Taking Action).

Great ideas or “shoulds” will NOT move you towards achieving the things on your list… only ACTIONS will… and your first action is to

WRITE YOUR LIST!

So, block off some alone time in your schedule to get it done or book time with a friend and go through this process together. It doesn’t matter how it gets done, only that you actually do it!

This is an investment in yourself and the life you want to live. You are worth the time and effort it takes.

Want some help in making 2010 your BEST year ever? Join me on Sunday, January 31st for a 3-hour Visioning 2010 workshop. See Explore our Services for more information.

~Namaste.

* Source: Wikipedia
** Source: Dictionary.com
*** Source: ProCoach Success Systems