Every day starts a new year!

Most of us use January 1st as the mark of a new year, and we tend to put all efforts to change, improve, or better our lives on hold until that day arrives. When it does arrive, we inundate ourselves with "New Year's resolutions" that most likely will be a distant memory by the time the calendar turns to February.

• "I am going to lose weight."
• "I am going to start working out."
• "I am going to start my own business."
• "I am going to end a destructive relationship."
• "I am going to change careers."
• "I am going to ..."

Instead of falling victim to the same old trap, begin looking at every day as the start of a new year - because technically, it is. Don't wait for an external event to happen before you make an internal change. Decide now what you want to do, who you want to be, and how you want to accomplish it.

Do you have written goals? If you don't, how do you ever expect to accomplish them? There is an old saying, "you can't hit a target you can't see." If you don't write down your goals, you are telling yourself that they really aren't that important. Subsequently, if you don't achieve those goals, you can always rationalize by saying "I really wasn't trying that hard...it wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, I didn't even write it down."

Take responsibility for your happiness. Buy an inexpensive notebook and set aside some time to brainstorm. Reflect on who you are now, and who you want to be three, six, and twelve months from now. Write down your goals, your desires, your dreams. And once you write them down, take action. Do something, no matter how small, to move you towards your goals. Simply put - if you don't take the first step, you will never move from where you are.

Reflect, document, and take action. Every day starts a new year, and self-improvement is an ongoing process - not a "once-a-year" event.


what is t.a.d.?