New Year

Now that 2020 and a good many of its challenges are behind us, or at least more under control, I think it’s safe to say that we can actually begin to think about our near future, and our wishes and dreams for the New Year! It goes without saying that in-person gatherings with family and friends are likely to be at the top priority for many, Cathrine, along with what we used to consider as regular outings, such as dining out, taking little trips, and going to movie theatres, live music and other entertainment venues. Aside from those things that many of us have been deprived of over the past year, I want you to make a wish list of your most cherished wants and desires for 2021 or even beyond. Feel free to include material goods, events, goals and benchmarks. It’s the things you want as well as things you’d like to do, accomplish or bring into your life.

Naturally, some of your dreams and goals are likely to be things that could be given or gifted to you as a present. However, my hope is that your wish list will also include goals and ways to improve your life. Whatever finds its way onto your list, I want it to be more than just a thing or event that doesn’t go beyond “wishful thinking!” There’s certainly nothing wrong with dreaming or imagining the things we’d like to have or do, but that exercise can easily become futile when the exercise goes no further than our imagination! Broadway star Mary Martin has some advice for that kind of wishing: “Stop the habit of wishful thinking and start the habit of thoughtful wishes.”

I want you to be proactive with your wish list. So, here’s my advice. When you begin making your list, let the sky be your limit. Take the time you need to complete it and add as many entries as you like. But for each entry, list something you can do to begin making that “wish” a reality. It should be a practical, doable step that you can actually do and follow up on. If you can get in the habit of adding to those steps, week after week, it will eventually become a habit, and you’ll be on the way to making your own wishes come true. Obviously, during this process, you will probably need to re-access some of your dreams and wishes as some will become more important and some less so.

Eleanor Roosevelt had a practical saying about wishes: “It takes as much energy to wish as to plan.” So, I hope you’ll use your time wisely. You may not have a fairy godmother to grant you wishes, but you have something better, my friend. You have yourself!

I sent you all my best wishes for a healthy and productive year, and one where you work toward realizing your dreams!