Reflections

Ah, it's the day before a new year yet once again.  This one especially seems to have come quickly.  I mean, really, where did 2010 go?!  We were digging out of a Snowpacolypse at about this same time last year, and here in DC, we were on the verge of another one (just dodged it, and our thoughts are with our friends on the Northeast corridor who did not!).

Of course, it's hard not to get reflective during this time of year.  What did I accomplish this past year?  What didn't quite get done?  What am I going to try to do in the upcoming year?  I've been trying to figure this out all this past week while it's been quiet at home and work, and I think I'll share some of my thoughts with you so that, next year, I can come back to this post to double check myself :-)  Also, hopefully, it will help you think this through for yourself and help you set some goals for 2011.

Goal setting does seem to be the first step.  Setting goals is important because you need something to try to achieve and to measure your success by.  And, when I say success, I mean whatever you decide you want it to mean.  It does NOT have to be a money thing (so unfortunate that a lot of people measure success by the amount of money you make) -- it's about what will make you feel like you have taken some steps forward.  You'll want your goal to be something that can be achieved but that will make you stretch a bit.  For example, one of my goals for the upcoming year is to have 1000 followers, either here, on Facebook or Twitter, or through whatever channels followers want to connect with me.  And, I really want to make a connection with people and get feedback from them, so another goal is to actively participate in at least 5 social media/forums (I've been laying back, reading about others, and enjoying the conversations and thoughts, but as they say in NY "you gotta be in it to win it!").  I also want to do a lot more article writing and publishing this coming year, but haven't yet fully nailed down the specifics (that's the other thing -- you need to be specific about your goals, once again so that you can figure out whether you succeeded in accomplishing them).

So, I leave you today with wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2011!!  And start working on your own list of specific goals you want to accomplish in the new year :-)