I feel good about this new year. The beginning of 2023 seems different than the past two ‘new’ years and for many good reasons. We have lived through a pandemic. Not without many sad memories and just as many losses but still, we survived. Someday we’ll look back and be astonished at our resiliency.

I began this year as I have for decades: looking back at the goals I had made for the previous year and creating and capturing new goals for the year ahead.

To me, the process of writing goals is so encouraging and so filled with possibilities that I get lost in just imagining what could be. Just think of the many experiences that are yet to be known, how many people yet to meet, how many times ahead we will be able to acknowledge someone we love, to laugh, to share, to see another sunset. To me, writing goals is more than exciting; it’s exhilarating!

Goals aren’t that difficult to create. Just make a list of any little or big thing your heart desires and write it down! Writing goals down is key; don’t just think about what you’d like to see happen, instead write it down! Remember to write each goal in the present tense.

Phrases such as I have, I am, I enjoy, or I explore are great openings for whatever words come next.

During January, I encourage The Rose Family to write down their goals. Once written, I invite them to make a copy, put it in a sealed envelope, and give it to me for safekeeping. In January 2024, I’ll return their envelope, and I promise they will be amazed at the number of goals they reached. They always are. It’s magical to see their expressions and hear them say, ‘oh, I had forgotten that one’ or ‘gosh, that really happened.’

Sometimes a goal takes longer than a year to materialize, but even so, once it is written down, it sends a message to the Universe and that message takes flight. There will always be a few goals that you will be glad didn’t happen and others that turned into something even better than you first imagined.

Of course, goals can be made any time of the year, but the ‘clean slate’ of a new year makes all things seem possible.

So, get a piece of paper and a pen and begin!

There is no better time than now.