January is named for Janus, the Roman god associated with doors, beginnings and endings. This two faced being represents choices in our lives. One face reflects on the past while the other face looks forward toward the future.
Bust of Janus, Vatican Museum / Fubar Obfusco
The start of a new year is traditionally time to reflect on the accomplishments of the previous year and establish goals for the future. Our family started setting goals when our children were still in grade school. We sat at the kitchen table, each with a blank page of paper before us. We encouraged our children to be creative and dream big. My husband and I also set big goals for ourselves. The variety of my families goals surprised me. Some of their goals were loftier than others. They included:
- Skydiving
- Finish college
- Invent something
- Traveling to all 50 U.S. states
- Be in the Guinness Book of World Records
After each session, I typed and printed our goals then mounted them in picture frames. The frames are hung where we can see them every day.
Several times a year we take our goals off the wall and formally review our progress. We note the completed goals, make modifications or add new goals. New pages are printed and inserted in the frame. When we reflect on our progress, I’m delighted to see how many of these big goals we have accomplished. We have been doing this for 20 years.
My son did successfully jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I am happy to report he says he will NEVER do that again.
Where do you what to be next year? Start off reflecting on what you accomplished this year. Set 2010 goals for yourself. Read this post for more on creating an action plan.
