However old and cynical I have become, it’s rather hard not to feel some sense of excitement and anticipation at the start of a fresh new year.  So I almost fell off my walking stick when I realised – only a couple of weeks back – that we are also starting an entirely new decade.

I feel like Sleeping Beauty waking from a long sleep or confused old Brooks leaving Shawshank Correctional Facility, not quite au fait with our new year.  Realising I don’t know how to say the year – is it two thousand and ten or twenty-ten (I’m opting for the latter) or how to say the decade – is it the Tennies, the Teenies or the Tweenies?  I’m liking the Teenies though someone told me yesterday we can’t call it the Teenies till we get past 2012.  I don’t think it will stop me, however.

So what preparation do I need to undertake on this momentous occasion?  I cannot waste my time with new year resolutions nor a long list of goals though I confess to answering most of those Jamie Smart new year questions he’s been giving us for the last 5 years, namely:

1. Brainstorm everything you’ve accomplished in the last 12 months (You might be surprised).
2. Brainstorm the things you no longer want in your life.
3. Think about your dreams for the future. What do you want to bring into your life? What experiences would you like to enjoy? What new skills would you like to learn? What would you like to do?
4. Brainstorm the things you’d like to bring into your life. What are the things, experiences, qualities, and ways of being you’d like to experience more of in the future?
5. Make a list of your goals for the year ahead. What would you like to accomplish? What would you like to learn? What would you like to get? Who would you like to meet?

Questions 3 and 4 look suspiciously similar to me and all that remains is for me to read my ramblings and create a list of my goals, or powerful intentions, for the year ahead.  I’m confident I’ll lose the list shortly but it does no harm to set some intentions for the year.

Now at this point we are supposed to put our various lists on our right or on our left (depending on whether you’re left- or right-handed), sit quietly, imagine good feelings, become aware of our energy, allow ourselves to be fully present in the moment etc etc but I don’t go through all that myself.  It might feel good but I don’t believe it affects my chances of success with my new goals.  The only thing that really works for me is taking action.

Action, rhymes with satisfaction

If you’re interested in reading more of Jamie Smart’s stuff (he’s pretty cool if you’re into NLP and coaching) then you can find him at Salad Ltd.

What do you do at the start of a new year?  Do you have a favourite resolution / goal-setting scenario you undertake?  Feel free to share by leaving a comment below.