So now that I have my goals for 2010, I gotta tell you I feel pretty energized. There is nothing quite like creating a blueprint for the new adventurous life you want to lead.
But an interesting thing happened after I sent out my newsletter yesterday. As I sat on my couch and looked around my living room, I realized that the physical environment I was now immersed in has been virtually unchanged for the past 3 years.
And this got my synapses all fired up (and you know what-a pun was actually intended here). If 2010 is truly going to be my year where amazing things take shape, then I need to begin to see physical evidence that change is happening NOW.
While many of the things I have listed in my goals won’t happen until later in the year, I need to throw my subconscious mind a bone here and let it see that things are going to be different; that this is not going to be like every other year where I say big things are going to happen but by January 9th the fizzle has all but died.
So I did a living room makeover.
I had been thinking about this for a while, but I kept dragging my feet simply because it was a lot of work and I felt my options were limited. You see my living room has been blessed with an L-shaped desk that is built right into the most prominent corner of the room. It sucks up a lot of valuable living room real estate and severely limits what I can do.
But when I put on my thinking cap (it’s an actual hat that looks exactly like the human brain-ok not really, but that would be cool and gross all at the same time wouldn’t it?) I came up with 3 changes that have dramatically altered the look of my room and line up with a few of the goals I have for 2010.
First, I moved my bookshelf (which has been in the same location for 7+ years) to an adjacent wall. I am not sure any of you have ever tried to move a 6 X 6 foot bookshelf by yourself without taking off any of the books, but it sure as hell ain’t easy. I sounded like I was giving birth. But after much grunting, sweating, swearing and some serious plumber butt being exposed (it’s ok I was alone) I managed to push it into it’s new home.
This opened up a whole wall where I could actually put my desk, which had been homeless for the past 6 months. I now have one area where I will do all my writing and creative work. I even went all Martha Steward and implemented a cool idea I had seen years before.
I took a bunch of inspiring magazine photos I had pulled from a travel magazine and attached them to a line (piece of string) I had running from one end of the wall to the other using clothespins. It actually looks pretty cool. Later this week or next, I will attach one goal to each picture I have, just to keep them front and center for 2010.
My other innovative change was to create a reading area for myself. If I am going to try and plow through 52 books in one year, then I need to set aside time each morning (1 hour) to read. I now have an area to do that provided my cat will let me. He likes to sleep in all my working areas and play in all my sleeping areas (especially when I am asleep…grrrr!)
The change is not only refreshing but lends visual support and subliminal reinforcement to what I want to accomplish this year. And I also suspect that because the changes link to the goals I have set, I will have a greater likely-hood of success.
I was so stoked by this activity that I am going to use the next few weeks to make a few more sweeping changes to support my notion of change. This will include…
- reorganization of my bedroom
- a purging of my closet
- a kitchen cleansing and reorganization
- selling off items on Craigslist that I no longer need
So if you are looking to make things happen this year then quit working in the same old stale environment. The rationale? By creating evidence now that change is going to happen, that pesky subconscious of yours will know you are serious about making 2010 freaking awesome.
I mean come on. It can’t hurt. Give it a try.
To an idea worth quitting,
Dean
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