By Barbara Brady
Special to Relocation.com
The New Year offers you a fresh slate, a time for you to define and declare what you want to change in the coming year.
While some resolutions fade away like snow melting in March, others stick. To help you clarify what you want to change this year and gauge whether these changes will have staying power, here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Reflect on 2009. What accomplishments are you most proud of? What did you intend to achieve that didn't happen? What goals do you want to carry forward into 2010? What goals can you let go of going forward?
2. How happy are you with these areas of your life?
Health
Relationships
Home
Career
Finances
Recreation
Spirituality
Service
Other
Which categories have the biggest gaps between where you are now and where you want to be?
3. Pick two categories you want to change in 2010. For each category, ask yourself the following. I've included hypothetical answers for the 'home' category:
Q. What would I like to change specifically?
A. "I would like to change where I'm living to a warm climate that's more affordable."
Q. Why would I like to change it?
A. "I would like to change this to improve my quality of life -- e.g., to save more money and be able to ride my bike and jog outdoors year-round."
Q. What are some ways I can change this?
A. "I can change this by researching places to live, planning trips and finally setting a date to move to one place."
Q. How will my life be different when I change this?
A. "I will feel more alive and healthier and will have more friends who value a similar lifestyle. I will also be able to save more money for retirement."
Q. What could get in my way of changing this and how will I deal with each obstacle?
A. "Fear of the unknown could cause me not to act. It will help if I visit two to three places to get more comfortable before moving, and talk to people who live in these places. It will help to set dates for visiting and moving with steps of what I need to do in between on a time line."
Q. Imagine it's Dec. 31, 2010 and nothing changed in this category. What will my life be like? How will I feel?
A. "If it's one year from now and I still haven't moved, I'll be upset with myself and feel depressed about the weather and mad that I wasted another year. I probably won't be in as good physical shape also."
Enjoy creating and attaining your resolutions with these four additional tips:
1. Make sure you pick goals you really want, vs. those you think you should want. When you really want something, you feel a sense of anticipation and eagerness. You want to take action. When you "should" want something, you tend to feel bored or drained and procrastinate doing it.
2. Forgive yourself for not doing it perfectly. If you set a goal to move by July 1 and you've just finished visiting three places you're interested in by then, focus on what you did accomplish, adjust and move on.
3. Be flexible. A goal you create today may be obsolete tomorrow or in a month from now. Check in with your goals periodically to see if they're still relevant. You may come up with new goals based on opportunities you weren't planning on that come your way. Live your life without blinders on so you can see and seize the opportunities around you.
4. Have fun! In the words of Mary Oliver, "What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Barbara Brady is a Life Transition Coach and author of the book Make the Right Move Now: Your Personal Relocation Guide: http://snipurl.com/1k21n designed to help people discover and move to their ideal location. Visit her website at: www.mycoachbarbara.com