The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

New Year's Resolutions remind me of "swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" while under oath in court.

Do you suppose that people who lie every day of their lives are going to actually tell the truth because they swear to not lie under oath? I doubt it. Do you suppose that someone who lives without conviction, inspiration, discipline and motivation is going to do so by making a resolution on the eve of January first? I doubt it. At least not for long.

If you want to have a truly better year in 2008 than you did last year, you have to want better, know better, plan better, and do better. To "do" better, you need to "plan" better, and I've got a way to help you with this.

So, if you want 2008 to be your next best year, keep reading. If you don't you might as well stop reading, go grab a beer and some chips, sit on the couch, turn on the TV, watch something mindless that you've already seen, and let the year begin to tick away now.

Oh good, you're still here.

If you are not intentionally taking steps to move your life forward you can be sure you are moving backward. It is an illusion to believe that by doing nothing we are standing still. By doing nothing (meditation, by the way, is something!) you are actually moving backward. When we make choices that are harmful to us we simply move backward faster. To move our life forward we must intentionally make choices that will further us in the direction we hope to grow.

In my personal preparation for 2008 I created a template on which to identify the key areas of my life that I hope to impact in the coming year. I decided to share this tool with all of you in case you need some help designing your next best year too!

Michele O'Mara, LCSW
www.micheleomara.com