How to Get What You Want Most in the New Year

by Jackie Kelm (www.appreciativeliving.com)
I love this quote. Isn't it so true? We trade the healthy body or whatever it is we want most for that luscious dessert that shows up in the moment. I want to share an email from an incredible woman who attended one of my Appreciative Living workshops back in 2007, who did an amazing job of creating what she wanted most in her life. She sent me this email after I tried to call her and see how she was doing after the workshop. This is what she wrote:

"I'm sorry I missed your call, but I was in drug rehab for 28 days. I am obviously out now but I would like to tell you what I told my boss the day I went in. I thanked him for sending me to your workshop and I truly believe that it helped me come to the realization that I needed some help because all my future dreams consisted of me being drug and alcohol free and I could not break the vicious cycle I was in unless I went somewhere to get some help. I was an utter mess....thank you..."

I recently spoke to this woman, and she has been drug and alcohol free ever since the workshop, which is over a year and a half now. She is a single mother with three young children, so imagine the impact this had not only on her life, but on the lives of all the people around her. During the workshop she created a life vision for herself that was so powerful and engaging, it caused her to make some very big changes.

Every day for the last year and half she has been choosing what she wants most over what she wants in the moment. The reason she is able to do this is because she had such a strong, clear, inspiring vision of what she wanted most in her life. When you create this kind of vision, you act from inspiration rather than desperation. Your vision acts like a brightly shining beacon that overrides your desire for the things that take you off course. If you are wanting to make big changes in your life, you have to start with a big vision. If you have a gnawing feeling deep inside that your life is not what it should be on some level, chances are you have not taken the time to really think deeply about what you want most and create an inspiring vision around it.

Visualizing your ideal life is something that can be done any time, but there is something about the natural flow of the New Year that really adds to the power of this exercise. It is a wonderful time to reflect on what was best about the past, and what you want most going forward.

This means you have to take time out of your busy schedule and create a powerful, inspiring vision that makes you come alive when you think about it. In the box below I give you two great questions that will help you get started with this process. You might also find them fun to ask at a New Year's gathering.

And remember that while creating the life of your dreams is about you, in the end it is about all of us. Your life touches the lives of so many others, so that as you find your joy, you light the way for others to find theirs. Let it begin with you. Happy New You!