Resolutions or Goals…or Neither?

We have almost made it through the first week of Twenty-Twelve. Has it been good for you so far? At this point, my week has gone very well. Could I put in a request to continue the weeks for the remainder of the year to be at least this calm with no major catastrophes?  Puh-leaze? Oh come on, a girl can hope can’t she!

Calmness and less stress are on my list for this year. You know the list I’m referring to! THAT list. So tell me, have you made a resolution or goal list for 2012? Did you do one for 2011? If so, were you able to check at least a few things off the list as accomplished? I actually did cross off a few items on my list. Hooray for me, right!

For Twenty-Twelve, I have decided to make a list. I’m calling it my “12 in ’12”. I have thought long and hard at some of my wishes, wants and desires and came up with 12 to work on for the year. Some of the items are somewhat general but will hopefully be habit forming, in a good way. Then some of the items are very specific, yet hopefully life changing. A couple of them I already have laid the groundwork to get started and one or two others, well, let’s just say they are in the think tank! They will take some work and thought to get them rolling—but I’m on it!

I know there are so many thoughts about New Year’s Resolutions or Goals. There are some folks who feel they are a waste of time and think those of us who set them are major goofs. There are some folks that make the resolutions thinking that if they write them down, they will magically happen, then fail within a couple weeks. And of course they blame everyone and everything for the failure! Then there are the goal driven, list making, over achievers like myself that write a list of resolutions every year. I work hard at my list and more often than not, I succeed. Well, at least on most of them!  I sometimes have the same item on my list a couple years in a row, but usually finally get to scratch it off eventually. This year is no different; I do have a repeat or two. This year, though, there IS something different about this list. With this list, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do differently for myself this year. What realistic items do I want to tackle and realistically what do I think I really could accomplish. Then before I even put anything down on paper, I prayed about each and everyone one of the 12 items one by one until I felt that the item should be on the list. Yeah, I am anal in that way!

So, why did I go with 12 in ’12? Why so many and why a catchy name? I wanted something that I could consistently remind myself with a quick reminder. I figured that any time I would write or see 2012, it would remind me of my “12 in ‘12”. Do I have that many things I need to do better or change? HA! Let’s put it this way, if the year were 2025, I’d be able to do 25 in ’25!  Really! It’s not that I’m so messed up that I have a bazillion things I need to change, it’s just that there are some things I’d like to tweak about myself or my house. For instance, the dreaded piles to be filed…ugh! Truthfully, the “To Be Filed” pile has been neglected for so long it has become more like the “To Be Pitched” pile.  THAT, my friends is Numero Uno on the 12 in ’12 list!  Oh, and the decluttering of the house and heart is next!  Oh my, don’t even get me started on the decluttering. Seriously!

Now it’s up to you.  What are your thoughts on this whole New Year’s Resolution or Goal thingamajig? If you are one that does them, have you made your list yet?  Have you decided this year the list is of self-improvement, home improvement or a little of both?  Please leave me a comment below.  I would love to hear what you’re thinking about for the coming year.

As for me, I’ll be working hard on my 12 in ’12.  Who knows, maybe soon I will be able to get on this blog and tell you I have a new ditty….like 9 in ’12 or something great like that before it’s even the end of the year.  I’m that determined!

…and that’s all I have to say about that!

Tammy