Inventing 2009

I’m getting better at keeping year end resolutions I create in the spirit of the New Year – now they last beyond February.

A few years ago a friend sent me an email from Forgiveness Coach Eileen Epperson where she outlined how to invent the new year. I combined that with a couple of other wise practices and voila! New year, new achievements, new life. And I get to brag a bit rather than hang my head and avoid those helpful friends who say “ hey didn’t you say on New Year’s Eve that you were going to…?”

The key to inventing the New Year is to get complete with the outgoing year by being straight about what happened and facing the truth without any judgement. So what that would look like is to revisit the entire year month by month and yes you must embrace all your “Y” words; yeeshh, yuk and yay are words that often come up for me.

I shake that off and take an adult approach to celebrate achievements and make peace with the things that didn’t work out or I completely screwed up. Then I let them go and move along so I invent the new year with a clean slate.

I think the Chinese have it right. They name the year by using Chinese astrology. 2009 is the year of the Brown Cow – move over Cosmo. If you know anything about Chinese astrology you will have a pretty good idea of how the year will go.

So why not name your own year? Then YOU say how the year will turn out? Some of my past years were - 2006 was my Year of Completion…going to school, climbing a mountain (okay the Grouse Grind), clearing debt;

Royal Roads University – Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching

2007 was my Year of Expansion… expanded my business, my learning, circle of friends;

2008 was my Year of Partnership… relationships, professional collaborations.

By naming my year I created goals consistent with the theme I wanted and everything I did throughout the year was in service of fulfilling on the goals. It was so simple and it worked!

I share this with clients and friends and even though I know this process works, I am often astounded at the results when we do a mid year check.

Enjoy your invention.

Happy New Year!