I stopped making resolutions a couple of years ago and started putting together a plan of goals for the year, a list of desired behavior changes, and a list of specific things to do more of and less of. Last year I concentrated on letting go of perfection. The year I am concentrating on balance and power. And the year can be characterized by the theme: No excuses.

Balance

On the balance side, I feel like last year I exercised to the exclusion of writing and other things, like knitting or yoga or scrapbooking. So this year I thought I would concentrate on finding a balance by building a more balanced group of activities. I have four areas I want to concentrate on to find a better balance:

• Family time – I want to make sure we keep making time to have dinner together and do one family activity each week. I usually let the kids pick the activity, which works really well. We recently played a few very fun rounds of spoons! I would like to work in more 1:1 time with each kid. Sometimes between school, work, and sports, it is hard to fit in that kind of time. I’d also like to keep the unstructured time but mix in a few more exploratory activities – like looking at colleges.
• Me time – I want to carve out some regular time for meditation and writing this year. That is one thing that I did completely sporadically last year and I want to do it on a more consistent basis. I’ve started by committing to a Writer’s Circle so that I schedule the writing time and stay accountable. This structure helped me last year with Retrofit and losing weight and I am finding that it is really helpful for my writing as well. I definitely want to work more time for music this year, whether it is playing trombone in a group or singing. Performing in the 2014 San Carlos Chickens’ Ball will definitely help with this desired change.
• Work time – I have a couple of goals that I am focusing on this year for work – one is going on the road with the sales team to give a particular set of presentations and talks. The other is to become a better storyteller and presenter to continue on my quest to inspire others. The training and the teaching I have scheduled for this year should be a lot of fun!
• Exercise time – I loved finding an exercise routine that worked for me this past year and that I incorporated into my daily life. I exercise first thing in the morning and I love it. I run or walk almost every day. But, what I am finding is that running in the morning followed by sitting in front of a computer all day makes my muscles tight and unwieldy. I need to put more yoga back into my life and I need to bring strength training into the mix. I need to find a balance between a couple of different exercise routines. I want to get stronger, be more athletic, feel more energetic. I’m focusing on bring a bit more intensity to the time that I do spend exercising whether it is 10 minutes or 2 hours.
• Vulnerability – As I focus on letting go of perfectionism last year, I’m moving into the next phase of showing vulnerability. It’s funny, when I read Brene Brown’s work over a year ago, I took away the message of letting go of perfectionism and completely missed her whole message on being seen and being vulnerable. I guess I wasn’t ready to hear it. Now I am, and I have. Now I just need to work on it!

Power

I want to focus on finding my own voice and taking back my own power. I want to really see myself and others for who they are. I need to bet on myself and what I can do. To that end, I will be focusing on my 2^nd (Sacral – connection) and 5^th chakras (Throat – communication) this year with my exercise and other activities.

• Connection – forming authentic connection; letting go of certain bad habits in forming connections
  • Getting to know my body better and what it needs
  • Making & keeping connections with others in specific situations (better boundaries)
• Communication – finding my own/authentic voice, become a good story teller, more effective leader
  • Become a better storyteller
  • Recognize/focus on how I feel
  • Express myself more effectively, authentically

Specific Changes – Behavior or To Do More of or Less of:

• More time for yoga or other exercise
• Focus on Core strength
• More intense workouts (faster pace, harder workouts)
• Establish a regular meditation time (this seems to be time before going to sleep, sitting in the hot tub)
• Establish a regular writing routine (this seems to be some time during the day that is blocked out on my schedule)
• Write in my journals and the kids’ journals once a week (or more, but at least once a week)
• Stop. Only love today.
• Listen more, talk less. (This reminds me of the bumper sticker: “Wag more, bark less.”)
• Take a public speaking class or a stand up comedy class to build my presentation skills
• Play trombone more often
• Sing more
• Explore two career enhancers – Masters or Phd in Information Science at Berkeley, Martha Beck’s Life Coach program
• Travel more
• More 1:1 with each kid

I am very excited about 2014 and the plan I have put together!