Christmas is days away and the New Year is just around the corner.

New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite days of the year. I love to spend it in the company of close friends and family, and I love watching the brand new year begin. I’ve always loved what bringing in the New Year stands for. To me, it’s a clean slate. An opportuinity to start fresh and create something new and exciting.

The fact is 2008 has been a rather tumultous year for a lot of people. For me personally, it has been a year of great change and personal growth. The biggest change of all has been starting my coaching practice and now being able to coach full time. The past year was sometimes stressful, often times fun, and most of all it was an adventure.

Now, as the year 2009 moves ever closer, I see an exciting time to come. I was speaking with a coaching colleague of mine today about some work that we will be doing together next year and I was telling her how excited I am about the New Year. She commented that, inspite of the recession that the world currently finds itself in, the majority of people she has spoken to are very excited about the year to come.

No matter what you may be going through at the moment the New Year is just around the corner and the opportunity the year brings with it are exciting and limitless.

What are you doing to get excited about bringing in the New Year?

Here are some tips to get started.

1. Let go off the past.

Whatever has happened to you up until this point is done and gone. Your past doesn’t have to determine your future unless you let it. I once wrote on little pieces of paper everything that I was holding onto from my past and then I burned them to symbolize my releasing them from my heart and mind. What symbolic gesture can you think of to help you release your past so that you can move forward freely? (Please if it involves fire be very careful, burning your house down is not a good way to start out 2009).

It can be a difficult thing to leave the past behind you, if you feel that you need help in this area consider seaking out the help of a therapist or other licensed professional.

2. Acknowledge what you’ve achieved

It can be difficult to look at the year you are leaving behind and see what you’ve achieved. All to often you remain focused on what you didn’t get done, or what didn’t go the way you thought it would. Instead of dwelling on what you didn’t do, start off 2009 by making a list of everything that you did accomplish in 2008. You’ll probably find that you accomplished a lot more than you thought you did. Challenge yourself by seeing just how many achievements you can think of. Can you get to 100?

3. Decide where you want to go.

If anything were possible, what would you do? Make a list of everything you want to see happen in 2009, even if you have no idea how you would do it. Forget what reality tells you is possible, what do you want? Again, try to come up with at least 100 things. Then share them with others at 43things.

4.  Take action

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” -Will Rogers

Choose the most important thing for you to achieve in 2009 and start developing a plan of action to achieve it. Then start taking action. The best intentions and the best plans mean nothing if you don’t start them.

Here is to bringing in the New Year, and having 2009 be your best year yet!

If you would like help making 2009 your best year ever schedule a strategy session with Stephanie today!

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1. Roshawn @ Watson Inc Says:
   December 20th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

   Thanks for reminding us that this time can be used to have a new begining. That’s good news that many of us really need right now.

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