Happy New Year

I love making lists. As an event person, having the complete TO DO list is an essential part of planning a great event.

New Year’s is typically the time of year for another kind of list…the list of TO DON’TS…the list of resolutions…

Stop eating bagels and cream cheese for breakfast

Stop finding excuses to avoid the gym

Stop going to Amy’s Bread for Monkey Cake

The list is endless of all the resolutions I could make going into the New Year and quite frankly, it’s not a particularly inspiring list. Instead, some years back, on New Year’s Eve, I’ve started to create a list of all the places I want TO GO.

I know that with work, if I don’t write it down on my list, it won’t get done. And I feel the same way about all the things I want to accomplish in my life…. especially all the places I want to go. If I list them on paper, I feel that I have made a commitment to doing them.

I’ve got about 20 places on my travel list that I am eager to see. I’ll update it again tonight, crossing off places I got to visit this year, adding some new destinations to the list. And I will carry the updated list with me all year round in my briefcase, every day. Periodically, I’ll take a look at the list and I will make sure that I have some sort of plan to get to that destination and have that experience.

I’ve applied this TO GO list theory to other areas of my life and business that I have wanted to improve. And for me, it works. I guess it’s my version of creative visualization. Some years back, I wrote down what I wanted my life to look like — especially the parts of my life that I spent at the office. I carried that list around as well, periodically checking to see if I was doing the things I had committed to and over time, I’ve been able to get there.

So as I go into this New Year, I’m thinking less about resolutions and more about continuing to add to the experiences I want to have in my life and business — the series of events I want to be a part of. And, I’ll make sure I update them from time to time — sometimes over a piece of that delicious Monkey cake from Amy’s.

Happy New Year!