Deciding

For the next two days I will be deciding what goals I will write down for 2009 year. I love setting goals. I have many lists of goals. The ones I will accomplish each year, the 100 things I want to do before I die, the 50 things I want to do before I'm forty, the ten things I hope to contribute to the world and on and on. I enjoy the process of thinking about it, the idea that some of the things I write down will really happen, and the falling down, brushing oneself off and starting again ritual that happens every year. It is a time I decide will this picture be me each morning, or will I continue to put exercise down in the double digits of my priority list. Will this be the year I never raise my voice with my children, clean the craft room, finish scrapbooking my wedding album or finally learn Chinese. My goals usually involve using fancy fonts and text boxes and coloured borders and clipart all to inspire me on the journey. Indeed the Young Women's organization in the church left a profound imprint on my life.

A Little Lesson:
Perhaps the reason I find so much enjoyment in the process of goal setting is the fact I am never too hard on myself when I cheat, forget, slip up or give up on a goal. And perhaps that is the reason so many of my goals return to their rightful position on my goal sheet each year. Last year when Tam and Col where over as we were trying to come up with our new year's goals I watched Tam pour over each goal with all her energy and scrutinize each decision to make sure it was in fact what she felt she really wanted to accomplish for the year. I asked her, "What are you worried about Tam?" She responded..."Well, if I write down a goal, I want to know deep down inside that I will actually accomplish that goal." It was a bit of an 'aha' moment. I had never thought about it that way. I was impressed by her desire to be true to herself. I had never gone about it that way. I realized that I was more of a let's write down a gazillion and surely I will accomplish some of them kind of gal! I decided I should probably change the word at the top of my list from Goals to "Goals, Hopes and Dreams".