4 Ways To Bring In 2011

We’re nearly there, the end of another fun-filled and action-packed year! How was 2010 for you? For me, it’s probably the best year of my life in terms of spiritual growth and advancement; it’s also the year when I created this website!

But now that 2010 is drawing to a close, there’s some trepidation that I’ve sensed about what 2011 will bring. It’s guaranteed that there will be plenty of good and bad experiences, but some people tend to focus on the negatives. Why is this? Do they get a kick out of it? I hope not, but it’s the worst possible way to bring in the new year. Why worry about all the downers when you can instead focus on all the glorious opportunities? And there will be plenty of glorious opportunities, a lot can happen in 12 months.

For now, I’d like you to focus on my 4 ways to prepare yourself, to bring in 2011. I personally believe that if you leave making resolutions until the New Year’s party, when nobody is in a serious mood, then 2011 will be on you in a matter of hours, and you’ll start panicking because you’re supposed to make a start but you haven’t started yet. Which is why I advise you to prepare yourself. Give yourself a bit of time to make those resolutions come true, and reflect on your own personal 2010. Don’t rush into these things.

(As a side-note, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I know a lot of people do.)

1. Write The Year Down

What has happened in 2010 that you can never forget? Write it down, it’s obviously very important to you. Perhaps it was an awesome vacation, a wedding (perhaps your own?), a special birthday, a gorgeous summer spent with loved ones, anything. If you can easily remember it, write it down. Get it on paper for the world to see.

Next, write down all that you can remember when you think about it. A sports event, a funeral, anything else that was important to you for any reason. Really search your memory here and bring back as much as possible from the past 12 months. I remember this song, “Fireflies” by Owl City, that I really like, but when I thought about it, I realised that it was released way back in January! Didn’t seem right to me at first, but it’s true if you think about it.

The purpose of this exercise is to define your 2010. What made 2010 for you? In order to prepare yourself for the 2011 that you want, you need to know where you’re working from. Pinpointing your 2010, so that you know what was memorable, and what you wish could have happened, will set you up to continue on in 2011.

2. Track Down Your Vibes

As I look back at my 2010, I realise that I have certain vibes about the year, both good and bad. Some of my good vibes include passing my driving test, sky-diving, and meeting my current girlfriend. Some of my bad vibes include wasting money on a course, and not taking the time to plan more.

I know you’ll have your own vibes too, about what went well and what didn’t. Trust them. Contrary to the previous tip, don’t think about these vibes, just let them come to you. Your instinct will tell you what was good and bad. Let yourself get to know these vibes, so that you can understand why they came and what they mean.

Then, if you want, write these vibes down. The purpose of instinct is to give you a ‘feel’ for something that you wouldn’t have come across through logical thinking. Trust these vibes, trust your instinct. Writing the vibes down will help you set them in stone, and help you realise what you truly felt about 2010.

3. ‘Resolution-ise’

Now that you’ve got 2010 pinned down, and can recognise what was good and what was bad, you can start to plan for 2011! But how to do this? The best way is to write down everything that you want to do in 2011. And I mean everything, no matter how crazy it may seem.

Once that’s done, eliminate the definite ‘crazy’ items off that list, such as flying to the moon or winning an event at the 2012 Olympics. We need to maintain an element of realism here. But the rest, those items that you feel you have at least a chance of achieving in 2011, keep them. If you reckon you have at least a 10% chance of reaching a goal, then keep it written.

The point I’m making here is that you will have the easy goals (like washing your car more often), then you will have the fun, adventurous goals (like sky-diving), then you will your big scary goals. The goals that you would love to achieve but seriously doubt your ability to do so. Well, just 10% is all that’s required. You can achieve any resolution if you stick to it; you’ve got 12 months to do it in after all! Just don’t despair if you think of all the challenges and possible setbacks, nothing in this life that’s worth having will come easy.

4. Round Off 2010

So you’ve got 2011 all set up, exciting times! But before you start dreaming about what a great year it’s going to be, remember that, as you read this, we’re still in 2010. As I type, there’re still three days left of 2010, three perfectly good days to get some serious stuff done.

We all need to round off 2010 properly, and when I say ’round off’, I mean tying up loose ends, and cutting yourself away from the guilt and regrets. Because once 2010 is gone, it’s gone for good. If you associate 2010 with sadness, or with regret, then leave it behind you. Do what you have to do to achieve this ‘detachment’, but do it before it carries over into 2011. The last thing I advise you do to start off 2011, is to keep living in 2010.

Whatever loose ends you may have, whether they be detaching yourself from a previous failed relationship, or getting over the death of a loved one, they are still loose ends, and they need to tied up and left behind in 2010. 2011 is a new beginning, a new dawn in the storybook of your life. In truth, the best way to prepare for the new is to leave the old behind.

Phew…

Thank you for reading my advice to bringing in 2011, and for dealing with the end of 2010. I wish you a very happy and healthy new year, however you wish to herald its arrival, and I hope all those resolutions come true in the end.

Take care!

Image by spreadshirt.com