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Wendy Mackowski
has earned the Certification as a Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) after completing two years of training from The Coaches Training Institute. Wendy has also written many articles on various life & business coaching topics.

Beyond New Year's Resolutions -- Creating Your Life in the New Year

by Wendy Mackowski, Inner North Coaching

There is something magical about the beginning of a brand new year. There is a collective energy around getting rid of the old and preparing for the new. I imagine people all over the world cleaning out their closets, reorganizing their file cabinets, dusting off their exercise equipment, and generally making space for the New Year. New Year's Eve brings mass celebration and partying around the globe. There is great excited and hope for what is to come. This is the time when most of us are inspired to set some sort of New Year's Resolutions. . .. And then what happens? Here are four questions to contemplate:

Do you even remember what any of last year's resolutions were?
Do you remember how long you stuck to them?
Do you have the same ones this year?
How will it be different this time?

There is a famous quote that says, "If I keep doing what I'm doing, I fear I will end up where I'm going." What if this year you tried a completely different approach? What if you looked at the New Year as a giant blank canvas stretched out in front of you? Yes all 365 days blank and waiting. What if you were to become the artist of your own life and paint it any way you wanted? Does this sound like a pretty exciting perspective? Overwhelming? Scary? Perhaps you say, "I can't even draw, I've never been creative." Well, I have news for you that might come as a shock--you've been creating your life all along. All the years leading up to now are your own creation. You just might not have been doing it with consciously focused attention. So, how happy are you with your current picture? No matter what your answer is, just think of the MASTERPIECE you can create if you do it with complete conscious intention.

Here are a few tips to help you get started in the process of becoming your own Life Artist in creating the life you want for the New Year:

Know what you want

This sounds basic, but for many people this is the hardest step. Many of us have never taken the time to really define what we want in great detail. You may have a general idea about it, for example, "I'd like a better job." But have you thought about what type of job, what type of company, what you like about your current job that you'd like to find in that one, what you don't have in your current job that you'd like to see in the new one, what values you need to express in your work, how you will feel most authentic, what kind of people you want to work with, etc. Whatever part of your life you would like to make change in, you need to think about what you really want and begin to define that into details. Sometimes we can be so focused on what we don't want that we aren't giving enough thought to what we want instead.

Write it down

The next step is to write your wants down. Have you ever written down any of your new year's resolutions? Without writing down what you want, they will always stay wishes instead of goals. There is power just in the act of writing things down because it helps you clarify your thoughts and solidify your ideas.

Create a Vision

A vision is a clear picture in your head that also involves other senses--taste, feel, smell, hear. From defining what you want very carefully, you can then create for yourself the vision of what living that life would actually be like. You must spend quiet time daily focusing on that vision and really stepping into it. It is not magic, but it is a universal law that where we put our focus and energy is what we attract into our life. Too many of us are putting our focus and energy into thinking about what we don't want instead of what we want.

Keep it fun and follow your passion

What you truly want your life to be like involves getting in touch with your deepest passions and dreams. Really aligning with who you are--your values, beliefs and greater potential. It is knowing you are living to the fullest and stretching into your best self. When you find that place within, and you start bringing it more into your daily reality, you will experience that feeling of "rare aliveness" that will make all you do feel more effortless and more joyful.

Expect resistance

This is not only external resistance from friends and family, which is typical when people decide to make change, but also internal resistance from your own "Gremlins" inside that want to keep you in the status quo and not make any change in your life. "Rare aliveness" actually scares Gremlins to death!

Take Responsibility for your Life

Make conscious choices towards your vision. Decide what you have to say no to and yes to. This will be much easier when your vision is clear and aligned with who you are.

Get Support

Make sure there is at least one other person who can support your artistic endeavors! There will be plenty of challenges along the way. Many of them will be internal challenges. Someone who can help you examine your failures and reframe them as lessons learned. Someone who can be a sounding board for your ideas and give you true, impartial, non-judgmental feedback. Someone who definitely sees the true and authentic Rembrandt in you and can help you to see it as well. Someone who supports you and at the same time challenges you to stay true to what you are creating. (Sounds like the job of a Personal Coach!).

Begin Now

There is no time like the present to begin. These ideas sound great, but typically, we read about them and say, "Yes, I will do these things as soon as I find the time to actually sit down and think about what I want." Does that time ever magically appear? Not likely. And in the meantime, your New Year canvas is getting painted somewhat randomly every day. What kind of picture is being created on your canvas right now?

Wendy Mackowski, a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, lives in Orange County, California and is the owner of Inner North Coaching. For more information about coaching, sign up for Wendy's free email newsletter, or permission to reprint this story, contact Wendy.

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