I’ve spoken before about how resolutions blow big, stinky chunks, but only hinted at how goal-setting can really work.
If you are over 40 or a realist (I am in the former camp, but hardly the latter), you doubtless understand too well that there is no one book or system or piece of software that will change you life for you, only tools and hacks that help facilitate the growth you are ready to embrace.
I know: I spent 40+ years accumulating tools, and while I made incremental progress on my own, I didn’t get Big Mama Change until the universe saw fit to sit me down and teach me a hard lesson. Fortunately, I was ready for it. Because really, the universe’s next move was, like, non-operative cancer or some shit, and while the morphine and pot-smoking part of hellish pain sounds good, I question how well I would do with the rest of it.
So if you are change-ready (or change-curious) and want a new tool to play with, I humbly suggest you check out my latest column for LAcasting.com on effecting real change. Included are three steps I’ve found work well for me, as well as one really excellent book/system which I’ve hinted at here called Your Best Year Yet, by Ginny Ditzler. I did write the column for actors, but it’s not totally acting-centric, and besides, it’s always fun to read stuff about actors: ask the publishers of US and People and every other fucking consumer magazine aimed at women 18 – 54 in the U.S.
Also, I’m trying to add to my own body of knowledge on this stuff, so if you’ve found tactics or tools that work for you, please let me know either in the comments or via email (communicatrix at gmail dotterooski com). I first heard of Best Year Yet via Heidi Miller‘s excellent small biz marketing podcast, and I totally stole that theme thing from Jenny, for example (she was very gracious about it) and would be happy to steal equally good ideas from you, too.
With attribution, of course…
xxx
c
HELPFUL LINKS:
- Your Best Year Yet, by Ginny Ditzler, on Amazon
One of the top five books I recommend for turning your life around. Its practices are simple and transformational, if you work them. - The Best Year Yet website
The cult around BYY isn’t as geek-centric as GTD, so there’s less online documentation. Hopefully, that will change at some point. In the meantime, my suggestion is to scan the BYY site, get the book, and see for yourself if it floats your boat. - Heidi Miller’s podcast about Best Year Yet on Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter
If you’re the listening type, download this episode of Heidi’s podcast. She outlines the 10 questions that form the backbone of the BYY system. - “What to do with that Big, Shiny New Year of Yours” (one of my columns for The Networker)
Image by carf via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.
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Hey, there!
Yeah, it’s so funny to hear people talking about “resolutions” now, because I do my goal-setting in June, when things are slow. I take two or three days to work through the Best Year Yet process and come up with my goals and tasks.
However, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to check in at the halfway point and see where we are, yes? With all my health issues this year, a lot of my goals have been shot to hell, but then, keeping my head above water in SPITE of all that is a pretty amazing thing to have accomplished, yes?
I am so glad to hear it takes an old hand 2-3 days. That’s the one thing about the book I wish she would revise: no way in *hell* could anyone do the questions in 3 hours!!!
I don’t know why I still come to this blog. It is the only one that gives you homework.
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