It’s a cool January morning and I’m remembering that I didn’t make any New Year’s Resolutions this year (note the capitals in that phrase "New Year’s Resolutions" - this must be important stuff).

So, what’s new? Setting goals and working toward them is not something I’ve ever done regularly. I guess that’s because I’ve always been more of a "go with the flow" kind of person.

Yet when I consider the changes I have made over the past few years, I realize that putting my intentions into action is something I’ve gotten better at doing. When I trained as a life coach, I definitely learned more about setting goals, and this process does help me stay more focused on following my dreams and living within my values.

My yoga teacher started class last night with a few moments of "setting our intent" as an alternative to the more traditional New Year’s Resolutions. I like that way of approaching this daunting task of looking to the future. So, to begin, I re-read the Dalai Lama’s Instructions for Life in the New Millennium - good, common sense advice that draws on ancient wisdom: *(You can read it, too at (http://www.1stholistic.com/reading/liv_reading-dalai-lama-instructions-for-life-millennium.htm).

Looking at the nineteen instructions, here are the ones I have adopted as my guides to setting my intent for 2008:
"Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, respect for others, and responsibility for all your actions."

Okay, if I can follow that one, I can truly feel good about myself as I danced the night away on December 31, 2008. Taking responsibility for ALL my actions is a challenge, but a worthy one, I think.

When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

That makes a lot of sense. How good it is to go to sleep at night with no remorse weighing on your conscience? I usually rationalize away mistakes or to come up with reasons why I’m not an idiot for making that mistake. What a waste of energy!

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

This is definitely one I take to heart. Certainly, 2007 was a good year for me, financially. I both worked really hard and enjoyed the work. But was my life balanced? Did I take time to visit my mother, my children and my friends, keep up a regular yoga practice, or spend time in nature? Maybe not as much as I would have liked, so perhaps it’s time to check my priorities. My intent shifts to this focus—one of balance; to continue the good work, yet find more time for friends and family, communing with nature, and to rest in mindfulness.

Expanding my vision for where I want to be by the end of this year, my thinking turns to specific goals and tasks that will get me there. As I write them out, I note with some humor that they are quite similar to the goals I have set for myself in the recent past. But, there’s something about this process of writing goals down that helps me feel less overwhelmed and more confident that this is a plan that will work for me. I know from experience that these goals and tasks will evolve as time passes, and that I will progress with them.

Following up on little intuitions and dreams, I will find the threads that connect me back to my vision for a better way.

We humans like to start anew. There’s something compelling about making a fresh start, letting go of the past, and anticipating the best to come.
Whatever your process is for setting your intent, I hope you start by envisioning the life that you dream of. The new year will bring changes, that’s a given.
But if you want to have some say about those changes, it’s up to you to make it happen!