“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changes your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” Neil Gaiman
“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” Rainer Maria Rilke
Resolutions and goal-setting. Enough already. Every New Year we treat our personal lives as if we are a business reporting to some unknown board of Directors ready to pounce on our failures. Why not just seek to make this year, in Rilke’s words, “full of things that have never been?”
What Makes You Excited
Instead of resolutions or New Year’s goals, I have opted for “desires and aspirations.” For the first half of the year, I am booked with opportunities to experience, learn and give.
I’m excited about my life. And in most ways, it is quite an ordinary life. I choose to make it adventurous and curiosity-driven. Even the majority of time when I am at home reading or writing or painting or enjoying conversation with my wife.
I’d like to offer an option to the traditional Goal-Setting processes for 2017. Instead of capturing all the areas you want to improve, ergo “hard work,” why not list your achievable dreams? I call then our desires and aspirations. You can begin with the question, “What could I get really excited about doing?” Very different than what “should” I be doing.
And then, get at it. And don’t be afraid of failing and making mistakes. Mistakes are merely a sign that you are trying… so, try again.
When You Fail Doing “What Excites You”
Do It Again… Another Way
Photo courtesy of XXX at istockphoto
