What I learned:  This week was a fun topic that came together.  I had this idea of starting goals earlier and then came across this great article that talked about Old Year Resolutions.  That is what Benjamin Franklin called them.  In this article they mention how in December you can take some time to start maybe one of your goals or habits and because it is not the new year yet is is more of a rehearsal or you are just practicing before the big day.  I mean honestly you can start a new goal or habit anytime during the year, this idea was simply to get a little momentum on what you may have been thinking about doing and trying it our before the new year starts.  Benjamin Franklin had this life long project of arriving at moral perfection.  Quite that goal however he kept at it all his life despite him not actually getting close to moral perfections.  I loved what the article says of what Benjamin Franklin thought of the project. 

“But, on the whole, tho’ I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.” (from the article The Conversation.com  "The Best way to follow through on your New Years Resolutions?  Make 'Old year resolutions.' " which you can find the link to below)

The other thing that I talked about with goals and this last month of the year.  What is something that you may not have gotten to - can you try to do it this month?   

Also I love the idea of looking back and reflect on the year with you goals and habits.  How did you do?  What went right?  What was hard?  Did you only last about 3 months?  

The other thing from the article they mention is the Benjamin choose one thing at a time to work on and let it take as long as it needed until he was done.  So if it took over a year than that was still ok.  It was a life long project.  

“Treating self-improvement as a project with no rigid time frame worked for Franklin. In fact, his scheme probably helped him succeed wildly in business, science and politics. Importantly, he also found immense personal satisfaction in the endeavor: “This little artifice, with the blessing of God,” he wrote, was the key to “the constant felicity of his life, down to his 79th year, in which this is written.” “ (also from theCoversation.com "The Best way to follow through on your New Years Resolutions?  Make 'Old year resolutions.' ")

I also share different ways that we can think of ideas.  First using prayer and pondering to reflect on what might be a good things for you to improve on this year.  And also listen to all you good and positive desires, they can tell you something.  Something that you may want to work on.

And then maybe you are like me and finally realize you are ready to do something and change something.  For me that means getting rid of items and organzing my storage spaces.  I am ready. What are you ready to do?  Make an 'Old Year Resolution' and get some momentum going into the New Year.