Thursday, January 1, 2009

Ring In the New

For many of us, one new year’s resolution is not enough, and New Year’s Day is a chance to make a long list of things that we want to do better in the new year.

I hope you are not taking that approach. If you write a long list of things you are resolving to do better, it quickly turns into a long to-do list. That long to-do list will either fill up your time and keep you from doing the things you really want your life to be about, or make you feel bad about the many things you are not doing.

Besides the to-do list itself, clutter is the other thing that keeps you away from everything you dream about in life. That’s why this is my recommendation for the new year:

  1. No clutter.
  2. No list.

Don’t think of New Year’s Day as a chance to make big plans that you might take action on later. The things you want for the new year might give you a list of things to do, but don’t make the mistake so many people make of saying, “Well, I’ve got my list, so now I’m done.” Having a list to carry around with you all year isn’t really progress. If you must have a list, try to complete it and get rid of the list right away. In other words, can you make it happen by Monday? Take action right now, and change the direction of your life right now. Happy new year!

New today for the new year is a new blog, dedicated to the use of questions for self-discovery. Take a look at the Ten Thousand Questions blog at www.tenthousandquestions.com.