Just an observation, but everyone seems to be making New Year Resolution posts, so I thought I’d do one. I have a Milestones page for my life goals, but after visiting the blog Bucket List Publications (seriously, check this site out. It’s so cool), I thought I’d make a list of goals for this year specifically.

Also, I haven’t yet addressed some changes I made with the blog. The Positivity project was becoming a little purposeless, and was definitely lacking in direction, so… I fixed it! When I originally started this blog, I wanted it to document my progress as I worked my way through the principles of various self-help books. I started out strong, but then I started skipping around and exploring different books without really committing to any specific one. This format wasn’t working. So I’ve decided to bring back the focus, and choose specific self-help programs to work my way through.

First on the docket, if you’ve been following along, is “The Artist’s Way:” A 12 week program for rehabilitating your creative self. I am just about to go into week 3 of this challenge. To visit the project page, you can click here.

After the Artist’s way, I will be doing the Happiness Advantage. To read more about what’s involved in this 21 day challenge, click here.

 MAKING YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION STICK

Okay, so before I delve into my own personal goals, I’d like to talk really quickly about the process of making New Year’s Resolutions for yourself.

I work at a gym, and I KNOW that come January 1^st we’re going to see a tidal wave of people looking to start their year off right with a gym membership. “Now, is the year that I’m going to get in shape.” I guarantee that phrase is on the lips of every second person who you pass in the street. Regardless of if your goal is to lose weight, quit smoking, or to become a vegan: Don’t be that person who goes strong for a couple of weeks and then quits. Have I been guilty of this? Of course! But just because you failed at something in the past, doesn’t mean that you have to fail now. Make the decision to start anew. Oh, and don’t cop out by saying something like “I just don’t have the will power.” If you’ve ever seen the secret: “Your wish is my command.” Try affirming in the opposite direction. Try thinking of yourself as the person you want to be TODAY. Don’t wait until you’re there – because then you’ll never be there. You’ll always be waiting for that moment in the future when you can finally begin living. There is no such thing as “making it” – every day is a journey AND every step of that journey is equally as important as the step that came before or comes after. There is no end point, there is only today.

I think that is the root of why so many people struggle to commit to their new years resolution for longer than a couple of weeks. Looking forward at the large expanse of time ahead of you is overwhelming. Thinking about how long you have to do something, especially if you’re struggling, can feel impossibly discouraging. The trick is not to think about the time spanning ahead of you. Only think about today. Commit to one day at a time. That’s all you really can do anyway, because the future doesn’t really exist. All we have is the present.

The comedian Kyle Cease once said something in one of his podcasts that really stuck with me:

“You’ll always know what you’ll lose, but you can never know what you’ll gain.”

Think about that. By committing to exercising at least 3 days a week you will lose some level of comfort during those 3 hours of exercise – but what could result? What might your life look like if you finally succeeded in losing the weight you’ve been complaining about for so long?

Today I committed to a 28 day white sugar detox. I know that by doing this I’m losing chocolate, cookies, sugary drinks, etc. But what might I gain? I won’t know if I don’t do it.

So as you make your new year’s resolutions for 2013, think about that quote and remember: One day at a time.

Now, on to my goals for 2013:

So much has changed in a year, that now I feel the need to rewrite my mission statement. This one will be going up right beside my bed, and on the wall of my “office.”

My mission statement for 2013:

As a confident and forward-thinking person, I enter into every project (no matter the size) with a mind that’s open to adventure, and both excited and grateful for every opportunity.

Acting Career Goals

1. Sign with a major Agency in Vancouver for film and TV
2. Book first role.
3. Book first guest star.
4. Master an American Accent
5. Master a British Accent
6. Complete my Voice-Over Demo
7. Sign with an agency in Vancouver for voice.
8. Learn how to sing

Writing Goals

1. Write Screenplay.
2. Write E-book

Fitness / Health Goals

1. Run the BMO 1/2 marathon (May 5)
2. 28 day white sugar detox (no sweets for 28 days starting Dec. 30)
3. Complete Insanity (60 day workout program)
4. Become certified as a group fitness instructor
5. Become certified as a personal trainer

Money Goals

1. Pay off my credit card
2. Pay off my line of credit
3. Make $7,000 in one month

30 Books I want to read in 2013 (in no particular order)

I also want to make a list of books I’d like to tackle in the new year. I have SOOO many books on my to-read shelf, that it is slightly overwhelming. I would like to read at least 50 books in 2013, but I thought I’d start by listing 30 books I want to read for sure. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’ve separated my list of 30 into 3 categories: Fiction, Non Fiction, and Acting.

When it comes to non fiction, I am absolutely fascinated by anything that has to do with the brain, and the benefits of positive thinking. If I had the science smarts, I think neurology would be a fascinating career to go into.

When it comes to fiction, I am a sucker for the classics. I am also a huge fan of Kazuo Ishiguro. “The Remains of the Day” is probably my favourite book of all time. Ian McEwan, Jodi Picoult, and J.K Rowling are pretty high up there as well. I’m ashamed that I haven’t read J.K. Rowling’s newest book yet. There should be AT LEAST 4 more hours added on to every day. Then, maybe, I would have enough time to finish everything I want to accomplish.

I also think I’d like to start writing book reviews. It’s something that I’ve wanted to get into for awhile, so no better time than the present to start.

Non Fiction

1. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business – by Charles Duhigg
2. Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection – by A.J. Jacobs
3. The 4-Hour Chef – by Tim Ferris
4. The 4-Hour Workweek – by Tim Ferris
5. The Power of Now – by Eckhart Tolle
6. Walls: Travels along the Barricades – by Marcello Di Cintio
7. The Happiness Advantage – by Shawn Achor
8. Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? – by Jeanette Winterson
9. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – by Susan Cain
10. Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness – by Esther Hicks
11. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth – by T. Harv Eker
12. Back in 6 Years: A journey around the planet without leaving the surface – by Tony Robinson-Smith

Fiction

13. The Girl Who Played with Fire – by Steig Larsson
14. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – by Steig Larsson
15. The Unbearable Lightness of Being – by Milan Kundera
16. Handle with Care – by Jodi Picoult
17. Black Dogs – by Ian McEwan
18. A Pale View of the Hills – by Kazuo Ishiguro
19. Anna Karenina – by Leo Tolstoy
20. The Road -by Cormac McCarthy
21. David Copperfield – by Charles Dickens
22. The Great Gatsby – by F. Scott Fitzgerald
23. Wolf Hall – by Hilary Mantel
24. Bring up the Bodies – by Hilary Mantel
25. The Casual Vacancy – by J.K. Rowling

Acting Books

26. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition – by Anne Bogart
27. The Need for Words: Voice and the Text – by Patsy Rodenburg
28. Challenge for the Actor – by Uta Hagen
29. Voice and the Actor – by Cecily Berry
30. The Actor and the Text – by Cecily Berry