Jump And The Net Will Come

New Years Eve eh?  I enjoy the opportunity that it provides to catch up with friends and make an occasion out of something, but actually I'm much more into New Years Day; starting off a fresh new lap of the sun by doing something fun.  I try to aim to start as I mean to go on, rather than rolling over the start line of January 1st feeling rotten.  

And resolutions...  why now, why midnight tonight?  Why not just decide to do something and get on with it, or making a change when you it occurs to you that you want or need to, rather than waiting for the same day as everybody else.  But resolutions are useful things.  Timely reminders to set the wheels in motion, or a good deadline to take a leap.  
Recently, I found myself juggling so many half-baked, hare-brained projects and silly ideas that I had to sit down and write SMART targets for all of them.  I really needed to prioritise them and set deadlines to give me even a half a chance of achieving just a couple of them, elsewise they'd all be left wallowing  on to-do lists covered in doodles and the brown circles of countless cups of tea.  I needed to check that each project was "Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound" to stop me from going off on tangents or focusing all of my energies on things that really aren't of very much use at all, whilst neglecting more important or achievable projects.  But perhaps the most important thing is just to get on and DO things, rather than just thinking about them (check out this great short picture-book by David Hieatt if you need a bit of help getting started doing).  And that is what New Years Eve is good for.  Tonight, you're standing with your toes curled over the edge.  When the clock strikes midnight, resolve yourself to achieve something this year then lean forward and push off.  In the words of my over-achieving friend Tom, "Jump and the net will come".

Have a great New Years, and a really happy and productive 2013.  I hope you've enjoyed another 52 weeks of gumpf and will stick with An Tor Orth An Mor for the next lap of the sun.  See you out there.  Mat

Image above:  25' down, 4' deep, by Mat Arney.