New Year, New Opportunity

Written by Writer Dad on December 31, 2008 - View Comments
Categories: Writing

“Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion.  You must set yourself on fire.”

~Arnold H. Glasow

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Plan Your Goals and Write Them Down

Across the world, men and women sit straighter, raising heads in consideration as the final page floats gracefully from their calendar.

As each tick pushes the following tock toward a change in our year’s final digit, it is difficult to look forward without stealing a glance in the rear view of our year, wondering if we pulled all the possibility from each of our dozen previous months.

Few of us can nod our heads with certainty.  Not because we failed to try, but because we did not endeavor with all our mind.  Perhaps we thought success would arrive by the brute force of our character rather than from the strength of a well reasoned plan. Or maybe we believed that because we mean the things we say, our plans would spontaneously transpire.

Life isn’t a script with lines to memorize.  It is an everlasting ad lib with zero second takes or pauses.  It happens around us with every breath, deep within a vacuum of inevitability we cannot ever escape.

Most of us leave our last year behind then step obediently into the next, certain this new year will be the one when we will make our dreams sing in the key we’ve always wanted.  We design our dreams with bloated intention, only to find them faded by the harsh sun of reality sometime around mid-February when the burden of daily commitment becomes a bit too much to bear.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Seeing success means tearing the meat from the bones of our word, rather than leaving the flesh to rot on a moldering carcass.  We must mean what we say and see our commitments through.  This often means the creation of smaller goals, completing each before moving to the next.

“This year I’m going to get in the best shape of my life, pull my family closer toward prosperity, and spend my minutes wisely.”

That may all be true, but without a map we are only nomads; empty phrases are not powerful enough an engine to pull us toward change without our best effort behind them.

Plan your goals and write them down.  The permanence of the written word adopts a power unvoiced thought can never possess.

Establishing goals we cannot meet, prompted by arid ambition and little application is no way to find the finish line. No one has more impact on your life than you.

Writer Dad

Sean Platt is a ghostwriter for hire, specializing in custom blog posts.

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  • Although it has taken me a few days to get my head together, 2009 is my year to shine.

    Thanks for the great advice.
  • Sean: I am a great fan of writing down goals, as evidenced by the ten pound Monarch Franklin planner that goes with me to work every day. It works. The New Year is simply a pre-designated time for me to chart out my goals for the next year.

    "Seeing success means tearing the meat from the bones of our word, rather than leaving the flesh to rot on a moldering carcass." I love this. What vividly stunning imagery! I'm printing it out and putting it on my monitor so I see it every day. Dang, I love words.

    Lance: Here's a word for you---synergy.

    <abbr>Randi’s last blog post..December Fun</abbr>
  • My year goes from August to August so I am mid -stream and this year I made all of my goals for turning 60 two years ago, building on my goals I made for turning 50. I agree with writing things down...then they do start to work out in your life, mind and heart goals work if you lay the right foundations.

    I wrote a post early on called 88 successes. My Honey and I made a list of things we wished to accomplish in our marriage and when we moved 13 years ago into a new house we found the list of goals and we had accomplished all 88 things with no reference back to the sheet of paper. We have been married for 30 years.

    I am working to change my attitude about making money this year, that is the only major tweak I have made to my goal plan

    The quote is great as is you writing . Thank you for refreshing our resolve.

    <abbr>Patricia’s last blog post..An Introduction:</abbr>
  • I enjoyed this post and everyone's comments on goal-setting. Great things to think about as we begin a new year.

    Don't forget that stating clear goals for yourself is just the first step. Besides taking consistent action, work on: building your belief (with a vision board, affirmations or specific writing exercises), setting yourself up for success (eat for energy, plan ahead, organize your writing sessions for efficiency & productivity) and surrounding yourself with supportive friends and colleagues.

    These actions will help you move from goal to reality.
  • vodkamom
    I absolutely LOVE this post. I am a firm believer in the thought that YOU have to make things happen. Yeah, I've been a bit exhausted for a while with this kid, work, wife thing; however, I am still trying to make things happen. I believe every day is a new day, and I need to shake things up in order to make some of my dreams come true. Many already have - I am married to a great guy, have three fantastic (bratty) kids, and I have a job I love. Now that I am writing a column, and rediscovering my love of the word I am even more happy and content. But I still feel deep in my soul that my journey is still in its infancy. (it's weird...) Thanks for the GREAT post.
  • Ben
    I don't do New Year's resolutions and haven't done any for at least a decade and a half. My main reason, as alluded to by Eric and Brett, is that every new day presents the opportunity to write down and/or start a goal or to change a habit for the better. This approach is one I have taken seriously over the past few years and it has done immensely more for me than the cliched New Year's resolutions.

    What puzzles me after years of reading self-help/goal-setting/personal development books and blogs is how few discuss how one measures one's accountability and success in sticking to one's goals/habit change.

    As an example from my life I finally changed the daily soft drink/soda drinking habit I had been trying to quit, on and off with varied degrees of success, over the past decade and a half. The two keys to my continued success was strongly identifying myself as someone who doesn't drink soft drinks and an excel spreadsheet that I fill in daily totaling the days since my last soft drink. I find the accountability of tracking my daily progress has helped steer me away from the handful of times temptation has reared it's head.

    I've started using the accountability spreadsheet method for some other goals/habit changes and it's the best technique I've found for myself - I know it's not for everyone.

    I agree that written goals are valuable - but the process and work involved in achieving goals is just as important .

    I'll finish up with a couple of Thomas A. Edison quotes -

    "I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success. "

    "If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. "

    Cheers
  • Love the quote. However, I think we can modify it a bit. Before you light yourself on fire you have to be willing to reach into your pocket and take out your lighter and then flick the spark.

    People forget that success is about the little things. The things like waking up in the morning and taking a shower. The things like taking the time to actually write down and plan your goals.

    So, I'm going to have to agree with Writer Dad. All you need to do is write your goals down and thats a great start. Now take out that lighter.

    <abbr>Success Factors’s last blog post..How to Learn From Your Competition, Success Factors Day 2</abbr>
  • I stumbled onto your site and love your pearls of wisdom. Thanks for sharing.

    <abbr>Mistress Mom’s last blog post..My Therapist Is on Vacation</abbr>
  • I haven't stopped by since your early days - I liked your work when you began and am intrigued by the progress and evolution you have undergone in the days since. Nice work. In my feed reader now!

    <abbr>David Hutchison’s last blog post..Focus Time to Prepare for the Day</abbr>
  • Beautiful post.

    I don't do the resolution thing, haven't for many years.

    What I do is turn over three fortune-telling cards and ponder how I can apply them to the next twelve months. Yeah, yeah, everyone laugh and point at the crazy lady.

    This year - 1. let go of the need to fight every little battle. Let go of the need to control it all. Let go. 2. Commit to things in their entirety, with every fibre of my being, rather than half-heartedly, only on the surface. Follow through with my projects. Don't just mutter and moan about query letters - write them. Every "no" is one closer to "yes", or at least proof that I shouted into the chasm and waited for my echo. 3. Remove the large stone at the entrance, the one keeping people out and me in. Trust in the better selves of my fellow humans, even knowing that trust can lead to hurt, to misery, to loss. It also leads to love, joy, and spiritual strength...and possibly some mighty fine apples.

    I don't resolve to do these things...only to be mindful of them as I walk my year.

    I'm lazy that way.

    Shade and Sweetwater,
    K

    <abbr>Kyddryn’s last blog post..Happy Blah, Blah, Blah</abbr>
  • That's why I like writing. It all happens to fast when it's LIVE.

    I came THIS close to making a New Year's Resolution. If I was one to make them, it would be to have better handwriting so I can spend more time with the notebook and less time at the cyberspace controls.
  • Great and timely post. I'm writing my goals down tonight. While I've had ideas of my goals, they've been subject to the shifting tides of life. Time for me to turn the tides in my favor.
  • Laurie
    "It is an everlasting ad lib with zero second takes or pauses." Isn't that the truth? The older I get the more in my face that is...If only there were second takes or pauses, but there is not.

    Beautiful thoughts, profound truth. I like Lance's idea of having a focus word for your year. I might do that. I am considering the word "authentic".

    Happy New Year Sean. Your 2009 will rock!
  • Setting goals for yourself or your business as mentioned is definitely a fundamental necessity if you expect or remotely expect them to be accomplished. I would encourage you to not only make them in your mind, but also to write them down and review them "often" I read mention of having them in your wallet which is good I also like to print them out and put them in frames like on your desk or hung on the door and when you've accomplished one highlight it out but keep it as a reminder? We seldom have one on the list anyway! I am convinced that 2009 is going to be a great year and looking back on 2008 isn't going to make it that way. "look forward ladies and gentlemen". Thank you

    Cheers,

    Robert "Butch" Greenawalt
  • Sean

    I'm with Michael, that quote is amazing... :) Happy New Year! For me, writing out my goals helps to ensure that they get accomplished. Lastly, so true-> "Plan your goals and write them down. The permanence of the written word adopts a power unvoiced thought can never possess."

    -Mig

    <abbr>Miguel | Simply Blog’s last blog post..Happy New Year!</abbr>
  • Ian
    Resolutions are made to be broken, goals are made to be attained. A few years ago, I began writing down my goals for the new year. It works wonders. I have found that I accomplish much more with this method. The list grows as the year goes on and shrinks as I reach the short term goals, but it is an ongoing, living list. Happy new year.

    <abbr>Ian’s last blog post..Ode to Joy</abbr>
  • I'm with Michael. The quote at the top is awesome! 2009 will be the year I set myself on fire!

    [hmmm, that doesn't sound so good when I say it like that.]

    Best of luck, Sean!!

    <abbr>Jamie Grove - How Not To Write’s last blog post..What Words Did You Leave Unsaid In 2008?</abbr>
  • cindy
    Sean,
    I cannot wait for our New Year's Eve tradition when we put pen to paper and map out our goals, dreams and realities that will come to fruition in 2009. I thought I could blaze trails before you came into my life, but now I realize I was only lighting the match and starting a few intense cozy fires. Let's create some serious and positive spontaneous combustion and soar like eagles. Your writing is beautiful... you are beautiful. Happy New Year! Happy Everything!
    Daisy (Mia and Max too!)
  • BTW the "well though advice" should have been "well thought advice" - see what I mean about 2008?
    ;-)

    <abbr>Bill Lublin’s last blog post..Merry Christmas , Happy Hanukkah, etc. etc.!</abbr>
  • @remarkablogger Thanks for the tweet that led me here.
    Both quotes would have been enough reason to read this - the quality of the writing would have been the second, but the well though advice about making goals that can be accomplished, creating a path to achieve even grander goals is practical and needs to be shared.
    The New Year is not a significant holiday to me , though I am so pleased to see 2008 end , in hopes of a better 2009 that it leaks out of my psyche without intention.

    Thank you Writer Dad, Thanks Michael, and Thanks Kent- may all of you and the other readers and commentators have healthy, happy, and productive new years.

    <abbr>Bill Lublin’s last blog post..Merry Christmas , Happy Hanukkah, etc. etc.!</abbr>
  • Oops, I meant to say Kent when I mentioned the Chinese proverb, not Eric. Sorry for the mix-up. :)
  • First of all, I love the quote at the top. I had never seen that before. This is without doubt the most beautifully written post I will read about the new year, and I'm pretty confident I can say that without having read the rest of the 300 or so that are going to flood my reader and my twitter stream over the next 48 hours. This is WRITER Dad, not just Writer Dad. OK, now I'll stop before I embarrass myself and give Sean a fat head.

    I agree with Brett to a large degree, the time is always NOW. But human beings like to use rituals to make meaning in their lives. We're funny that way. I'm down with that. There is a group momentum you can use help carry you along, like riding a wave.

    I also love Eric's Chinese proverb in his comment! That's two things going into my swipe file out of this post!

    Happy New Year, Sean. Something tells me 2009 is going to be a break-out year for you. :)

    <abbr>Michael Martine - Remarkablogger’s last blog post..WordPress SEO - Why Should You Care?</abbr>
  • As a new calendar year ends and another begins, some people will reflect, others will look forward and many will do both. The problem with this conventional behavior is that it removes one from the present moment, which is not a comfortable place to be for many people.

    I agree with the comments and sentiments of Brett and Eric, which imply that new opportunities present themselves every moment -- not just once per year.

    Another problem is that the human tendency is to "make things happen" by planning and self-motivation. While these are not harmful habits, we often overlook what's happening NOW and tend to miss opportunities that were not "planned" or produced by our hyper-intentional motivations...

    If we could simply find contentment with where we are and who we are now, we could at least find more comfort in the present moment and where we are heading.

    "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." ~ Chinese Proverb
  • Eric,

    I think you sort of said it better than I did - as we cross over the threshold, it is a convenient time to take stock of how we have done, all the good things, let go of the things that have held us down, and charge ahead.

    If you're a dork, then I'm an uber-dork :)

    <abbr>Brett Legree’s last blog post..viking fridays - burning logs and reindeer bones.</abbr>
  • I hear what Brett is saying and agree that we should never limit ourselves to on day, month, season to define the positive change in our lives. But I must say that I LOVE this time of year and certainly use it's 'push' to drive me forward. I see January 1st as my eyes opening, first thing in the morning, the sun beaming through my bedroom window. It's a new day with new energy, filled with fresh perspective to play with.

    Absolutely, writing goals down is key. Much of this is done on my blog (this is one reason I love blogging). All I have to do, when I forget why I'm pushing ahead, is click on that 'Archives' tab in my navbar.

    Do I sound a little extreme here? Am I just a big blog DORK? I think so...but that's OK...right? :-)

    <abbr>Eric Hamm’s last blog post..Remembering The Pains And Triumphs Of 2008</abbr>
  • Most certainly a new year brings new opportunities, but I never do "New Years Resolutions", because each step, each breath, each thought brings new opportunities.

    I don't wait for January 1st to effect change - why not do it now?

    I will say though, I tend to use it as a time for reflection.

    Good post Sean - may 2009 bring you continued happiness and success!

    <abbr>Brett Legree’s last blog post..viking fridays - burning logs and reindeer bones.</abbr>
  • It seems like New Years is all about planning, planning, planning. We even plan the first kiss of the year - and even have a countdown for it. Dammit, I will not write down my resolutions! I will instead choose spontaneity!
  • I've never done New Years Resolutions because the new year means like nothing to me. Or worse, a boring party you have to endure because everybody else is celebrating.

    <abbr>Miguel de Luis’s last blog post..Steps to health: Plan your diet</abbr>
  • Hi Sean,
    I'm trying a new approach this year. I will be choosing a word, one word, that I will use as a catalyst to define my year. It will be written down, and I'm excited to see how it will manifest itself in my life. I haven't chosen the word yet, and hope to have it within the next few days.

    Wishing you much success in the upcoming year, my friend! You've done amazing work here these last several months, and I know the new year will bring even more opportunities to grow and achieve new successes!

    <abbr>Lance’s last blog post..This Challenged Me - Part 2</abbr>
  • I wrote down my goals a long time ago on a slip of paper, put the slip of paper in my wallet, and promptly forgot about them. I've managed to accomplish one of them.

    A fellow by the name of Earl Nightingale held that a secret to success is that "we become what we think about." I was most successful in my instructional career when I was mainly focused on being the best instructor that I could be, which was all I really wanted to do. It was only later, when other things -- like the internet -- distracted me, that my job became harder and harder to do.

    I don't do New Year's resolutions and the changing from one year to the next doesn't inspire me to do better in the new year that I did in the last.

    Of course, I do aspire to do well in my current career field: retiree. ;)

    The goal that I did accomplish: retire at 55.

    <abbr>Mike Goad’s last blog post..What will 2009 bring for blogging and you?</abbr>
  • My own aspirations have not really changed since last year but my priorities have.

    I feel time pressure I didn't feel before and this has helped me to focus my energies more precisely on what needs to get done.

    Listing my priorities and detailing how I'm going to address them is helping immensely.

    It won't be easy. I'm going to have to cut a great deal from my life and focus mainly on the four priorities I've identified.

    All I can do is see where it takes me.

    The adventure continues......
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