Change is in the Air

Can you feel it coming? Maybe it's the fact that the night sounds are changing, or maybe it's that the kids have gone back to school. Maybe the nights are getting cooler, and the morning air is clean and crisp in the way that signals change is coming. Before we know it, Summer will have made way for Fall, and Fall for Winter. "Wait!" you say, "I'm not ready for that." Unfortunately, ready or not, 2015 is passing, and soon we will be saying goodbye. This leads me to a question I try to ask myself this time of year, and now I will ask it of you. Where will you be on New Year's Eve?
I'm not referring to your location. If you're celebrating with one or one hundred of your closest friends, the question still remains. Where will you be physically? Mentally? Emotionally? Will you be able to smile to yourself and say, "I wasn't perfect, but I did pretty well?"
After more years than I would like to admit when I was not even remotely satisfied, I have done my best to change this. It's hard to be constantly driven and laser focused. However, I usually begin well. And making goals to carry me through the end of the year helps ensure I also finish well.
For example, in previous years, I was tired of feeling bloated and lethargic from all the holiday goodies I had eaten. I enjoyed every bite, but I did not like the after effects. A few years ago, I set a September goal that on New Year's Eve, I would weigh what I did on September 1. I gave myself a two-pound bit of leeway, but no more.
Of course, my goal would be useless unless I paired it with measurable objectives. For me, this has meant increasing my exercise and making choices about what I would and would not choose as indulgences. I can say from experience that it is best to decide beforehand how many of Grandma's Christmas cookies and how much crab dip to have. For me, at least, once those things are staring me in the face, it's too late for rational decisions.
I wish with all my heart I could tell you that since starting, I have been like Mary Poppins -- practically perfect in every way. Some years, I surprise even myself. Sometimes, I'm thrilled at how well I have done. Other years, I'm in awe that something so carefully planned could go very wrong. Still, when the next September comes around, I'll be asking my questions and making my goals. I may never be perfect, but I hope to always be a work in progress.
What about you? What things, if you made your goals happen, would transform even a small part of you? We'd love to know your comments on Facebook or Twitter, or you can email us at [email protected] .