Regrets, Joys and a Hope for the Future

Tradition has it that in addition to celebrating the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays during this time of year typically brings a time of reflection on the year that has been.  That time of reflection usually brings me three emotions. 

1. Regrets or sadness.  When looking back over a year's time I always think of somethings that I wish had gone differently, the loss of loved ones or the end of some phase of life. (Saying some that hurt another person, not spending time with a certain person or a children moving away.)
2. Joy and happiness.  When looking back over a year's time I always think of things that went well and things that I am thankful for in life. (Baseball season, a promotion at work, my wife or a new bike.)
3. Hope for the future.  When I look back I think of how I would like to either improve a phase of life or perhaps something I would like to do again because I found it to be a success in the past.  (Reading more books, learning to cook better or going to more of my kids events.)

The third element is really goal setting. 

Tradition has it that we make "New Year Resolutions."  Some people embrace this process and do it faithfully every year.  They are committed to self improvement and are committed to having a plan for the future.

Other people dread the idea of a system that only seems to be set up for failure.

Television, radio and Internet advertising for weight loss, quiting smoking and other life changing programs come at us full force.  I personally am not sure what I hate more New Year ads that make me feel guilty about how I live my life or political ads that make me want to vote for none of the above.  (The answer: neither, what I hate the most is trying to watch sports while every other minute I have to watch a middle age couple dance in the kitchen, hold hands while jumping off the deck or sit in matching bath tubes).

I am neutral on the idea of New Year's resolutions.  If you want to lose weight or quit smoking there is no time like today or April 17 or August 3 or November 19.  The sooner you end what you consider a bad lifestyle choice the better.  Waiting for a magic date is only going to hurt you. 

But I do like the idea of goal setting.  The start of the year is the perfect time for that.  It gives you a good time frame to measure your progress.  For example if you want to save money and establish a rainy day fund, New Years is the perfect time.  You can establish that by next year at this time I want to have $2,500 in savings.  Then go about your year knowing that at the end of each month you will need to raise the total by about $200. 

If you have a project that needs to be done around the house but can't be started until summer time now is the time to set the goal.  Then you can make sure you don't comment yourself to something that interferes with that goal.  If you wait for late spring to set a goal for a summer project you might have over committed your.

(Remember you are in control of your goals and not vis versa.  If you get to late spring and you want to change your mind you should.  It is your life.  But if you set the goal you will have the flexibility to change it later.  If you don't have a goal you likely will have gotten yourself into to so many things you will have no freedom to change.)

You might be wondering why I am writing this at the beginning of December and not at New Year's time.  My reasons are simple. 

• It is a process that deserves a lot of time for reflection and the sooner you start the better you will do at having goals that matter to you.  The more your goals matter to you the more likely you are to accomplish them. 
• It is a process that should be thought out.  So give yourself about a month to let ideas run into and out of your head. 
• Finally goal setting should be influenced by a wide look at life.  Typically the Thanksgiving and Christmas season gives you a lot of time with your family and exploring/practicing your faith.  Both of those items should have a strong influence on where your future priorities lie. 

After you have set your personal and family goals it would be a great time to set some goals for you work life.  If you work at Willmar Electric it is require of you to have a daily goal.  Most positions at Willmar Electric also require annual goals.

And the bottom line is establishing goals really is just making sure your priorities are in line with the life you think you should be living.

Good Luck.