The Perfect Year Plan

Every year, milllions of people around the world make New Years resolutions. I would be willing to bet that at least 70 % of these resolutions fail every year! Why does this happen? Well one big reason is that people set the bar entirely too high. Realism is important in making resolutions. Also, most people lack the will power to actually follow through with their resolutions.

Go to the gym this week. If you're a regular gym-goer, you'll notice its unusually crowded and there's a lot of new people. I'd be willing to bet a good chunk-o-change that the most common New Year's resolution is to drop weight. By next month though, 90% of these new gym members will be gone.

Next year, they'll make the same resolution.

One more example...my buddy, D. His resolution? To drink less alcohol. So how does he ring in the new year? By getting completely obliterrated! What did we do last weekend? mmm...Patron (Sorry D)!

In the past, I have been guilty of this (as is everybody at some point in their lives) but I've gotten better about at least partially fullfilling my yearly ambtitions. So how did I do with my goals for last year? Lets find out in order of importance.

1. Find a Decent job: I'd say I nailed this one pretty well. I have a great job that is pretty low stress and makes the best of my stupid technical degree. I'm lucky to have an office and the internet priviledges to finish writing this post tomorrow!

2. Build a Kick-Ass Senior Project: I think I did well here too. I built an artificial intelligence robot that won second place (and $500) in the Roborodentia competition. Although my goal was to win, I was still really happy to do as well as I did.

3. Learn to Play the Piano: I'd say I did below average. I took a class and did well, but I don't practice nearly enough and I'm not very good.

4. Write more Music: This was pretty much a failure. I did actually finish one song on piano, but that is nothing over the course of a year. I've done one in a day before. I haven't even recorded it yet so this was a dissappointment.

5. Get fitter: This is pretty much a yearly staple for my New Years Goals. I did OK here. I'm pretty fit now, but there is definitely room for improvement.

So onto this year! I've got some lofty goals but I think all are realistic if I dedicate myself enough.

1. Become Real Estate and Investment Savy: I've been devouring personal finance books recently and I'm moving now into investment. Why? I want to build a nest of passive income that allows me to live comfortably, charitably, and affords me more time to work on things like New Years resolutions! By the end of the year I want to be in a position to buy property and begin serious stock trading.

2. Progress in Internet Marketing: This blog is basically my novice venture into internet marketing. I actually get paid when people click on my ads but legally I cannot encourage people to do so on my page. I love writing and I get really excited when I find out people read my blog. In fact I check my page viewership everyday. My goal is to market this blog more effectively to increase my audience and hopefully also increase my advertising income.

3. Become a better musician: I've started this already as I spent a considerable time on my Piano and guitar this weekend and began writing a new song. I really want to make time for this and actually improve much more than I did last year.

4. Learn more about Social Interactions: By nature I'm incredibly social. I hardly spend any time at home and, almost subconciously, try to surround myself with people. One of the things I find incredibly fascinating in the subconcious and psychology behind social interactions among people. I've learned the basics about Kinaesthetics and Neuro Linguistic Programming, but I definitely want to be more of a pseudo expert.

5. Become healthier: I consider myself pretty healthy. I exercise a lot (almost too much) and am moderately careful about what I eat. When it comes to exercise, I have a lot of will power, but with diet, not so much. I have a sweet tooth which sometimes gets the better of me. So, this year I'm going to get better about resisting temptation.

So thats it! I've already begun on five goals. I think everyone should write down their New Years Goals. At the end of the year when you evaluate yourself, you'll be even more motivated for next year! I am actually curious as to what other people's resolutions are, so feel free the share with me!

Good Luck...