Happy New Year!

2011 was a very big year me.

We welcomed a beautiful little girl into our lives, we moved into a new house, my son started preschool, my husband changed careers and I moved into my first office space.

Wow, I hadn’t written it down like that and really thought about all that had happened.

Anyhow, now we are on to a new year…2012.

I’ve been reading a lot of articles and headlines about making New Year resolutions and whether they are a good thing or a bad thing.

Personally, I think you should do whatever works for you.

I’ve thought about making a list of intentions which I have made in past years.

I’ve also contemplated making goals for the year.

But the truth is my life is very busy right now and I don’t have a whole lot of time to really pour into resolutions/goals/intentions right now.

I imagine most of you feel the same.

So instead I am trying something new this year. Something that I dabbled in last year and it worked.

I’m starting with just thinking about what I want in my life.

Because it is impossible to think about this while at home. (Bottles to clean, laundry to do, has dinner been made?, diapers to clean, emails to respond to…you get the point) I decided that I needed to head out of the house to get some clarity.

First, I set up a meeting with the brilliant Erin Brennan of Brennan Brand for a brainstorming session. We started by talking about what I want in my life.

I made sure that I did not worry about the “how”, just what I want.

Here are some of the things that were on my list:

• Personal chef
• Yoga 2x/week
• Quarterly trip with girlfriends
• Quarterly trip with husband
• Get back to Italy
• Date night 1x/week
• Monthly dinner with girlfriends
• Get into better shape than pre-baby
• Quarterly massage
• Go to the movies 1x/month

Immediately without making “resolutions” or goals, I started getting into action.

• Book weekly babysitter
• Talk to husband about a trip in the Spring
• Email personal trainer friend to set up a time to work out together
• Post on Facebook asking for best yoga studio close to my new house

And for things like “personal chef”, I’m just talking about it and imagining how great it would be.

I don’t know how it’s going to happen. But I have faith that it will…

I recommend that you make a plan with yourself to set aside time (outside the office and home) to make a list of what you want. If you do nothing more than that, you are ahead of the game.

Here’s to a great 2012…!

*For those of you who are interested in working with me, I will be accepting a limited amount of new clients in February so please email me now if you want to get on that list.

Today is less of a “Jimmy Choos” day and more of an Uggs day.

I’m currently up in Lake Tahoe, CA for a little “R&R”. Or as much “R&R” as one can expect traveling with a almost two year old boy and an active mountain dog.

I still managed during nap time to sneak away and FINALLY sit down and really dive into my goals. I had previously written them and I think they were a bit too lofty. And the more I am learning and growing, the more I am understanding about the importance of seeing results.

A lot of life’s satisfaction is about seeing results, don’t you think? I know for me that one of the things that I love about yoga is that every time I go, I notice that I can do a certain pose a little better or can stretch a little deeper. It is gratifying to see results. Even having a child, I hate to say it but those first few months while my son was growing physically, he wasn’t doing much but sleeping, crying and pooping. And then he smiled for the first time. And then he laughed. Those milestones are so beautiful.

In fact, I like that word “milestones”. We all need them.

This year I am going to try something diferent with my goals. I am going to set up a goals “calendar”. And I am going to mark each week or month (depending on the goal) how I am progressing. What my milestones are. Maybe I’ll use stickers or I’m not sure yet. In fact, anyone have any great tips for this that you want to share with me and everyone else?

One of the other key factors in goals is accountability. You must share your goals with others. So that when you run into your friend Sarah and she asks you how you are doing with that one goal of yours, you are held accountable. Otherwise, human nature is to sort of forget about them and hope no one notices.

I am stepping up to the plate, being vulnerable and sharing my goals not just with a few friends but with all of you as well. Will you help me stay accountable?

Here goes:

Health:

Yoga 2x/week

Try one 2new recipe/week

Indoor rock climb 1x/month (I wanted to say more but am going to start small)

Business:

Earn x amount/month (sorry, I can’t share ALL details)

Get written about in the NY Times by June 2011

Hire virtual assistant for 20hrs/month by March 2011

Personal:

Read two books/month (1 non-fiction, 1 fiction) – currently reading Freedom & Superfreakanomics

See one movie in the theater/month

Travel:

Take 2 trips per year with husband (1 big trip & 1 weekend trip)

****

There it is, my goals in all of their naked glory.

I also want to say that for each goal, I created baby steps that lead up to each goal. I won’t share those with you as it is boring. But I think it is important to mention for your goals. For example, Take Yoga 2x/week. For this one my baby steps are:

1. Look up yoga schedule
2. Put classes in my calendar
3. Schedule time with my husband to watch my son
4. Update goals calendar after each class

Get it? So that there are steps to make sure each goal happens.

Thanks for being witness to my goals and helping me continue to grow. What about yours?

Haven’t written yours yet? Come to Manifest + Mingle next week and I would love to help you!

I like to think of the New Year as a “reset” button. I find this to be particularly true after the madness of the holidays.

I don’t know about you but I feel as thought I lose all focus and intention in the month of December. While I love the holidays and all that they represent, I also find myself in survival mode to get through them. Buy gifts, send out cards, rsvp to parties, make small talk, book babysitters after babysitter, etc etc.

And so I approach the new year as if I am wiping the slate clean and starting fresh.

I thought I’d share how I set my goals/resolutions/intentions for the year in hopes that it can help you to also start fresh on the year.

The first thing I do is create a vision board for the year. This is a visual representation of what I want the year to be about. I will be doing a video on how to do this later this week AND am hosting a workshop on how to do this as well.

• GIVE THANKS - Here is where I take a moment to give thanks for what I already have in my life. To think about not what I need or what I want to accomplish but instead take note on all that I already have.

• WORD FOR THE YEAR – Try to think of one word that you’d like to represent the year. Examples: “Abundance. Romance. Laughter. Health. Security. Adventure. Discovery. Solitude. Calm.”

• SET SMART GOALS – When I say “smart” it is actually an acronym. Specific. Measurable. Authentic. Resonant. Thrilling. Basically if this goal doesn’t get you excited and up and talking about it, it’s not a good goal. I break my goals into five areas:

Health

Career / Financial

Relationships

Home

Fun

• ACTION PLAN – Here is where I usually see people go awry. We take a lot of time setting lofty goals and then we lose steam and forget to create an action plan to achieve them. I find that using planners helps me to get specific on how I’m going to reach my goals. Last night I sat down before bed and I started with the annual planner and worked backward to the quarterly, monthly and then to the weekly. I find this to be extremely helpful and effective.

I hope that you found this helpful, if you have any questions feel free to email me or comment below.

Also, I have a ton of exciting events coming up in the next few months.

This month:

• Manifest + Mingle – A vision board workshop with wine, magazines & a chance to use a glue stick

o    January 19^th | 7pm | The Republic | $25

• Replenish Retreat – A one day retreat studying food, sleep, movement, goal setting, compassion and wellness. (You don’t want to miss this!!)

o    January 29^th | 10am | Costa Noa | $150

Happy New Year to All!

xo