Making New Year Resolutions

Christmas has passed, as much of the year is gone too. Tomorrow a celebration throughout the world will mark the passing of time. Some of us will get dressed up and go out with friends, while others will sit at home with a bottle of champagne between their legs watching the ball drop from their television.

How you choose to celebrate the passing of one year to the next is not as important as what you plan to do in the next year. Many of us make new year resolutions. We tell our friends, write them down, and half the time we forget them half way through the year.

You've heard them before:

1. Lose weight
2. Spend more time with family
3. Quit Smoking
4. Go to the Gym
5. Quit Drinking
6. Pay off your credit cards

These being the most popular for obvious reasons.

Yet, making a new year resolution is more than a statement, it's a goal. One, that shouldn't be taken lightly or made out of jest. If you have no intention of following through with it, then don't make the resolution. It's easy to say you're going to lose weight this year, but be more specific.

When you are specific about your new year resolutions then you are more likely to follow through on your goal. "This year I am going to quit smoking" vs "This year I am going to smoke only one pack of smokes a week."  or "I'm going to lose weight" vs "I'm going to shed ten pounds by June."

See how it works? Write it down, put it in a place where you see it every time you wake up and before you go to bed.

Don't just tell your friends about your resolution, set up a a support system to reaching your goal. Perhaps they have made a resolution too, be supportive of each other. Motivation is the number one thing people lack over time to full fill their new year resolutions. If you plan to quit drinking, be serious, find a local AAA group and join. The same goes with smoking and losing weight. When at all possible look beyond the support of friends and step into your community. Having encouragement and support is the key to full filling those new year resolutions.

So as you prepare to wave goodbye to the old year and enter a new year, look back....what was your resolution last year? How far did you go to meet that goal? What resolution will you make this year? What are you going to do in order to establish it?

An Exciting New Year ahead!

2010 proves to be an exciting new year, fillled with uncertainities, unexpected twists, bounds of joy, filled with hope, and a bit of expectation to top if off like a cherry on a sundae.

This new year promises to be filled with a new stages, and hurdles as we go through life's journey.  I for one, am keeping them written down in my journal.  Perhaps one day, the leg of my journey will be the inspiration for a new generation.

As I look back on the year that has passed, I amazed and blessed by many things - good friends, family, self discoveries, and personal achievements.  If you asked me last year what my goals were, I'd have told you I wanted to publish a book. 

I've done that with the 2010 Daily Mood Organizer, but my goal has been and always be to keep publishing books. They are my passion, thus the new logo. 

For those of you who know me, have stuck with me on this journey, thank you.  Please keep hanging on, your support has always been and always will be a welcome in my life.

For those of you visiting for the first time, welcome.  Life is a book, one we keep writing, living, and revising.  There is no editing, we can't turn back the pages and erase what is already there, but we can revise the next chapter as we go along.

I'm excited as the new year is beginning so are great things for all of us.  This year I've began a monthly newsletter, the first one was sent out only yesterday, with a few bugs, that will be fixed next month, I promise.

I'm proud to say my Etsy shop is open at mrschadt.etsy.com.  After speaking with so many people through my church family, friends, MOPS, XI ETA CHI, and standing at the bus stop - my list is full of new book ideas for journals, calendars, and more...  But keep the ideas coming, I love the challenges those ideas present for me to be creative when I'm not working on my latest manuscript early in the mornings.

If you haven't signed onto the newsletter yet, or just want to check it out, you can find here, on my website at http://www.mrschadt.com/.

In the next few months, I'm currently working on a "build a book" feature for on my website, as well as the design and introduction of a few new journals and even an album or two.

It's going to be an exciting year ahead! 
I'm looking forward to sharing it with all of you!