It is a new year! 2014 has arrived, and with it, our tendency to make resolutions. Although I find many resolutions are lacking enthusiasm, ( perhaps born from feeling pressured rather than inspired) I do love the idea of seeing the new year as an opportunity for change and growth. Endings by their very nature give rise to new beginnings, and what is more uplifting than the opportunity to start something new!
I find setting personal goals inspiring. The whole process of looking at oneself, being honest, and making a personal commitment to growth, is very admirable. Making a resolution takes honesty, courage, and faith, three excellent qualities we should all nurture on a regular basis.
One of the problems with New Year's resolutions is that they tend to be too vague. I find it very over whelming to think of setting a goal for a year! Yikes! What I learned from my personal experience as a peer leader with the Canadian Cancer Society's Living Well Beyond Cancer program was that goals need to be action oriented and measurable. Each week during the program peer facilitators and participants would set a goal (using guidelines from the program) and then return the next week to share their success with the group. If a goal was not reached we identified the possible barriers and brainstormed solutions. The guidelines for creating a goal was to write down what you were going to do, (an action) how much  or how long you would do it, and when. For example, instead of saying I want to get in better shape ( pretty vague ) you would say I am going to walk 2km in the morning four days a week. We also had participants rate on a ten point scale what they thought their likelihood of success would be. If they did not rate it a seven or more then we suggested they modify it until they felt more confident. One of the biggest lessons learned was to make the goal achievable.  Setting weekly goals that were achievable helped participants to succeed, and each success helped to build the foundation for the next goal and success. No matter big or small, it is empowering to achieve a goal and share that with others!( It also helps to be accountable to someone and have support if there is a problem) I loved the weekly goal setting and found it was a format that worked for everyone.
So... if there is something you want to accomplish and you have not got around to doing anything about it why not try setting a goal this week that you share with someone and see what can happen!

When we honour

the truth inside,

and let courage

take our hand,

faith will be ready

to help us go

where there are no limits...

PB