From a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

As you begin this new year, let's take a moment to look back, way back, to a time when you had dreams and goals and excitement about reaching them. It may seem far away in the past. It may seem like they've been left in a galaxy far, far away...unreachable.

Today, I encourage you to dust off those dreams. A new year is a brand new opportunity to begin again. It's a great time to leave the past disappointments, the past broken promises, the past failures, all those broken New Year's resolutions right where they belong. In the past.

Some of us begin each new year with a list of resolutions. One of my long-time favorites is: I will lose weight this year! As you can imagine, before the first 30 days are up, I've reverted back to my old habits. So, this year, I decided to trick myself, to not wait until January 1st to make that resolution, but to begin working toward it in November, the day after Thanksgiving. That's right. Black Friday. There could be no better name for the day I began working out than that.

It all started when I learned how to use the Wii. The Wii Fit Plus to be exact. The cool thing was, I decided to trick myself into thinking this was 'just for fun.' I knew if I could keep myself thinking it was fun, I was more apt to use it and thus to get in shape and, even possibly, lose a little weight.

If you've ever used a Wii Fit, you know that, once you've created your Mii character, you then step up on the board and it weighs you. And it did. There was no lying to the thing. Immediately, my little Mii became a slightly bigger Mii. (Okay, I was being kind. It was more than 'slightly.' Oh, so much more!) And that was motivation enough. Now I'm on a mission to make my Mii thinner. And the only way to do that is to make this 'me' thinner. So, for me, this is what 2012 holds.

Of course, there are other goals I've resolved to accomplish. I want to grow personally and professionally and help others do the same. I want to move past my big 'buts' (those things that are holding me back). And, the cool thing is, I know I can.

What's even better is, I know YOU can. Whether you make a New Year's resolution or not, I encourage you to use this new beginning to begin anew. To dust off those dreams, those goals. To reach into that galaxy far, far away and resolve to live your best life, right now

I wish you a very happy, very successful new beginning. Today is yours. Make it so.

Jean