Happy New Year! Time for some changes.

It is the 2nd week of 2017–that means the holidays are now behind us, that spacy-ness is dissipating and we are skipping into the next year. The new year always feels fresh — a time for a change, to be inspired, to improve aspects of life — professional and personal.

New year’s resolutions rarely last. I think it is hard to sustain resolutions because the focus is on doing or not doing instead of changing. By the way — if the resolution is not realistic, it tends to be difficult to fit into daily life.

I prefer to ask myself, “what do I want 2017 going to look like?” By that I mean–what do I want to experience and accomplish by the end of 2017? What changes, modifications and enhancements do I want in my life?

I like to consider different aspects of my life, for example: family, health, creativity, work, household, etc. Within each category, I decide what I want to experience or changes I want to make and develop a plan. Then I identify and incorporate small steps into my daily life. Think of this process as ‘time-frames with intention.”

Each month is a time-frame with an intention or purpose and a focus that is related to each category. Each month I experience progress and a sense of accomplishment. Most important, I have kept a commitment I made for myself.

I like to write about what I want to experience and change in a journal along a visual map so I can check the things I have done and add more steps as needed. Being realistic and acknowledging what I have experienced is extremely motivating and contributes to a sustainable plan.

Laugh away your typical new year’s resolutions and embrace the wonderful sensation of choosing, planning and experiencing desired changes throughout 2017.

Best wishes, Sheila