The open road

What roads have brought you to today? What new roads will you be taking this year?

Formally, the new year begins at the stroke of midnight tonight – leaving me exactly 2.5 hours to finish writing my list of goals for the next year. I do this somewhat halfheartedly for the truth is September always feels like the start of the new year to me (maybe due to years of always starting a new school year?) so my December 31st musings seem more like a mid-year recap.

Regardless, I still think it’s important to review where I’ve been and where I’d like to go. I find the act of physically writing slows down our thought process – it forces us to take the time to ruminate more deeply about what it is we are writing, and the why’s and how’s behind our thoughts. Following this good advice I’ve created two “top five” lists…one reflecting the past year, and one outlining the year to come: 

2011: Roads to Today

1. Started a second business and discovered skills in a previously unexplored creative area
2. Experienced times of emotional upheaval and life chaos that brought about a new outlook on life, changing some of the goals and ideas previously held
3. Able to spend considerable more amounts of time with my two lovely nieces, deepening our already close relationship
4. Had a beautiful summer that allowed me to baste myself into a deep tan, while working at the same time
5. Re-evaluated my long term goals and drastically revised my three year goal (which leads me into my 2012 list…)

2012: Roads to Tomorrow

1. Meet New People – with the underlying goal being one of these new people had better be Mr. Right because I’ve had enough of the Mr. Right-Now’s
2. Join a community theatre group and participate  on stage, or behind stage
3. Faithfully practice my Spanish – and find a tutor to practice with – so that I’m reasonably fluent in time for me to move to a Spanish speaking country for 3 months next winter
4. Complete my latest “book in progress” and improve my marketing and public relations skills
5. Join a gym to drop these now more-than-pesky 20 pounds I’ve packed on since I quit smoking
6. Not die at at the end of the Mayan calendar (just kidding)

When I look at these lists somehow the last year seems to have been not that exciting. Truthfully, it was really more of a year spent in self-reflection and a goodly amount of time was spent on changing myself for the better from the inside out. To put it simply, it was the year I practiced introversion.

Then I look at my list for 2012 and it simply screams “Extroversion!!” I think that will prove to be the biggest change of all. Because life is an open road…we can choose how fast to drive, which direction to go, and what side-road adventures we may want to explore. Sometimes the winds of change blow so strong that we are more or less required to change directions and use a different road than we had planned on – and who knows? We may get better mileage on that new road. We may experience situations we never expected on that new road. We may meet new people we’d have never otherwise met. Me? On my new road I fully expect to meet drop dead gorgeous Mr. Right standing beside his Harley holding a sign that says “Karen or bust” (heck, I’m willing to run him over if that’s what it takes to introduce myself)  and then it’ll be an adventure-for-two from there on in

Question(s) of the Day: do you make lists? Do you follow them? Why or why not? Do they motivate you or depress you?