Taking Control in 2010

The start of a new year is often the time when we reflect, review and restructure many facets of our life. However, while many of us begin in January with a plan, few actually succeed in keeping their resolutions until December (or even February!). This can be your year to finally take control; here are a few tips on how to make it happen.

1. Have a personal vision for 2010. What do you want to accomplish?  Create a vision statement, reflect on it and plan to make it a reality. Without a vision, there is no mission.
2. Be organized. Think ahead at all times. We all have a general idea of what will happen on any given day and what we are required to do. You can organize your entire day even if you have six toddlers at home, with three of them the same age! (Yes, I am a mother.) Being organized means getting rid of things that keep us disorganized, like distractions and unfinished tasks – in other words, lose the clutter!
3. Leave bad habits behind. We all know what our bad habits are.  Bad habits hold us back from achieving our full potential, and they also have negative effects on everyone around us. The way you live your life and do your work does affect others.
4. Establish goals and objectives. Setting measurable goals and realistic objectives will keep you on track and in focus. Sometimes we try to accomplish too much at one time; recognizing our strengths and our limitations will help us to avoid spreading ourselves too thin.  Reaching your goals and objectives will lead you to realizing your vision for the year.
5. Accept change as it comes. We reveal our level of maturity and sense of security by the way we respond to changes around us. Changes give us the opportunity to show how truly flexible we are and to prove that we can excel under any condition.
6. Take some “me” time. In our fast-moving world, we often forget about caring for ourselves and seeing to our own needs. The most important person in your life is you. Treat yourself as such.

Lastly, outside of making changes to take control in your own life, this would also be a good time to make a difference in someone else’s life.  In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

Have a truly great 2010, and if the changes you want to see seem unrealistic, just remember how many great changes have occurred since the beginning of 2009. We can do it. Yes we can.

- Patricia Hines