Wow! 2010 in almost over and already we are thinking about how to make 2011 the best year of our lives. For some reason this sounds so familiar! It seems that at the end of every year we look back on the previous year and the things that we wanted to accomplish and did or didn’t, the relationships that we shared, the mistakes we made etc.etc! We vow to ourselves that the next year is going to be “the best year” of our lives and that we are going to be “letting some things go”, finally getting in shape and getting healthy, saving money… blah, blah, blah!

It’s perfectly healthy and wise to begin looking ahead to the upcoming year and thinking about the changes that we want to make in our lives and what possibilities the new year holds! Anybody in their right mind should be looking at where they are in their life and asking the questions about where they are vs.where they want to be and begin the process of getting where they want to be!

But you know what amazes me? How we in our society rarely finish what we start! Yeah, I’m going there! we get part way through something and sometimes get discouraged or don’t see the results we want and before we’ve reached the goal, before we’ve finished the project we are already looking to the next big thing! Somehow I get the feeling that being in the “Planning” stages or “working on” something makes us feel better about where we are in our lives! It gives us a sense of accomplishment even if we haven’t accomplished what we set out to do in the first place! 

So what I want to encourage you to do is think about how you can maximize the time left in THIS year! It’s great to look ahead but what changes can you make RIGHT NOW that will help you make the rest of your year the best of your year! What project plan or goal did you start in 2010 that you can take the rest of the year to finish?   What can you do RIGHT NOW to finish out the year strong and prepare yourself to start the new year strong?!

We all know that actually finishing a project or reaching a goal gives us a sense of accomplishment and builds our confidence! We feel better about ourselves when we finish something regardless of how big or small the goal was. And when we don’t finish something we started, we often get discouraged and tend to get down on ourselves.

So, did you start a workout routine and have sorta fallen off the wagon? Get back on it and continue with you routine! No need to wait for the new year!  Did you start cleaning out a room or space in your home and it’s only halfway done? Finish it! Did you start writing a blog, column or newsletter and haven’t posted in what seems like ages? Write the most fabulous post that you’ve ever written…TODAY! Write one every day for the rest of the year! Did you make a vow to yourself that you would spend more time with those that are important to you? Call them up or do something with them and let them know how much they mean to you…TODAY! Did you promise yourself that you would relax more and take more time for yourself and haven’t done it yet? Then change that TODAY! Wake up a few minutes earlier or stay up a little later and take a long bath, read a book or just sit quietly and listen to your thoughts!

Try some type of food that you have been meaning to try and haven’t done so yet! See a movie that you wanted to see and wasn’t able to do so! Write a few more chapters of that book you started! Finish painting that room or cleaning that office! Whatever it is, take the remaining days of this year and give attention to those things!

The point is that you have a few days left in this year to make it one of the greatest years of your life! Don’t focus so much on the possibilities for the new year that you miss the opportunities that remain in this year!