new beginnings

The ringing in of a new year always brings a sense of new beginnings ~ a chance to start something over ~ a fresh slate. What will you begin anew at the dawn of not only a new year, but a new decade?  What bad habit will you cast off? What will you resolve? What new goals will you set?

Even though the new year tempts the idea of new goals and resolutions, I hesitate. There is such a permanence with putting goals to pen, much less sharing them with others. I don't have a stellar track record with goal follow through. I am a great starter, but lack the stamina for the long haul. Maybe that's why reaching my reading goals for two years in a row thrills me to no end. Keeping track of my goals only in my head does not flaunt my failure to accomplish them. There is no accountability from myself or others, which works well for nonfinishers like me. Yet there is a never ending feeling of inadequacy that lurks behind the noncommittal resolve.

So with much fear and trepidation, I risk showing you some (and there are many) of my shortcomings in my day to day existence.

1. Use Quicken to track our income/expenses all year.
2. Read 35 books.
3. Go to work 15 minutes earlier so I can come home earlier.
4. Deal with mail and other paperwork right away to avoid pile-ups. 
5. Be active at least three times a week. 

Surely there are more I could list, but let's start small. Plus, many other things that were candidates for this list could be considered steps to achieve the above goals or results of achieving these goals.

So there you have it. I will review and reflect on these goals sometime this summer, then again in December.

Wish me luck.