Passion & Joy: How Did I Fare in My Challenge?

My challenge was to (1) read, each morning, the description I wrote in my last post of what living passionately and joyfully looks like and means to me, (2) every day do something I am passionate about, and (3) see what happens.

The experience has been pretty amazing because I feel like I have been really engaging in "conscious" living. I have set an intention for myself in the past week and a half and I have been actively working on the intention and observing the results.

On the Passion Side

I have done many things during my challenge that I am passionate about: Firstly - writing! I have been documented how the challenge was going and I posted my second blog post for year. I have been cooking, which I really enjoy and made 3 new dishes that involved improvisation and they all came out delicious. I went away for the weekend with another couple and we had an amazing time winery hopping and going to the casino and engaging in meaningful conversation.

I have been exercising, reading, and working towards my next career by meeting with a recruiter (this was a big step for me) and doing the related interview prep work, which required a lot of introspection on myself. And I have spent quality time with my husband, who I am very passionate about!

I also did a transformative/transcendental yoga class and I shared fully/participated fully without fear or shyness in what I was saying. I felt very present and interestingly noticed a theme among the sharers in the class (we set our intention for the class at the beginning). a) we can all be hard on ourselves, b) we all want more for ourselves - we want to improve. I shared about my new-found purpose, that I wanted to use this class to set my intention for the year to live by that purpose, and I am first focusing on passion and joyfulness; another person shared he wants to focus on his health this year, on success in his business but also taking more time for himself; a third shared she wants to be more present in life and a fourth shared she wants to focus on what success means to her and not how others define her success. I found that statement interesting, because I definitely saw that in myself as well. And our instructor, my friend, reminded us that people can often make assumptions of how others see things, such as our success and what we assume may not be true.

On the Joy Side

The first thing I noticed is that setting a morning intention really fires me up for the day. Every morning when I read my last post, I felt excited for life and what was to come. I was in a good mood from the beginning of the day on. I felt cheery at work. I made an effort to have conversations with colleagues I typically don't have chat with. I participated in a meeting I didn't want to attend, but I was okay with it. I was increasingly present and focused on the task at hand. All in all, I felt relaxed, friendly and easygoing. I was also smiling more.

There were also a couple of days where I forgot to read my post first thing in the morning and I also think it impacted my day as the intention was not set from the beginning. In reading it later, I did feel a wave of excitement come over me and, almost instantly, I felt more relaxed and content. Interestingly, however, I did not feel as joyous throughout those days.

Given my challenge, I was also acutely aware of the times I did not feel joyous: I am not happy when I feel pressed for time or I am running late. I can feel upset if I'm not getting the attention I think I deserve, if things are not going the way I want or expect them too, if people do not act the way I think they should act and also, especially, when I do not meet the expectations I set for myself or I feel like I have been unproductive. On the last point, I often tend to overestimate how much I can accomplish and then feel disappointed with myself if I do not accomplish everything. Even with this fun challenge, by the end of day one, I was starting to think I wouldn't be pursuing enough passion for the day (hilarious, right?!). But it was a very telling observation as I  often use productivity as a measure when determining whether I had a good day or not.

I also observed how I felt when I was unhappy: anxiousness, irritability, anger, resentment, worry and being upset with myself. I realized being unhappy has so many symptoms! I also realized my triggers for feeling unhappy are all things that reoccur in my life. If I can change my perspective on those triggers, I can change the amount by which I am happy. It's all manageable (albeit with time and practice, but still)! There is a huge sense of empowerment in becoming conscious that I have direct control over my happiness levels.

For example, during my challenge, I actively decided not to use my productivity levels as my measure of a good day and instead focused on enjoyment and passion. And it's interesting because when I did not focus on how "productive" I was, I felt happier. However, I did notice every time I did pursue something I am passionate about, which is productive in itself, I felt happy and satisfied afterwards. Aha! I just had a realization - connecting this back to my utilitarian value that I wrote about in my last post - pursuing passions is productive and useful as it makes me feel fulfilled and happy! When I stop focusing on measuring productivity and pursue passions, I am happy.

Also, as if the universe was telling me I am on the right path - my husband signed up for an evening seminar called Creating Happiness offered by Landmark. It's all about tapping into your power to have a say in your experience of life and "blowing the roof off" living true to your transformation. I was hesitant to attend, but decided to sit in on the first session with him to see what it was about. As I sat there, resistant, it hit me that this class has a direct connection with my purpose of living joyfully - how could I not sign up?! So, I did and am looking forward to see what unfolds over the next four months.

Joyfulness is a choice

I learned while doing this exercise that I really can choose how I feel. I can make a conscious to decision to be joyful and lighthearted and consequently I will feel joyful and lighthearted. But it is a decision I have to actively make - and I need to continually make it when things don't go my way. When I am unhappy I can choose to put it aside and be happy. Yesterday I was running late for work and feeling extremely stressed about it. Once I hit the subway, I read my purpose and my last post and I instantly felt better. My whole demeanor (physically and emotionally) changed. I was, once again, joyful, relaxed and present.

Lastly, while I was trying to focus on happiness and passion this past week, I inevitably was pursuing the other elements of my purpose too - connecting with others, having that spiritual connection during the yoga class, challenging myself by writing and introspective preparation for my interview... intentionally living life the way I choose to. My actions are all interconnected. Having the guiding purpose so far is really making the beginning of my year amazing. I can't wait to continue this year!

Distilling What my Purpose Looks Like: Passion and Joy

In my last post I wrote about discovering my life purpose:

To live a passionate, joyful life in which I continually challenge myself to achieve my dreams and act courageously; to have unabashed love for and connection with the universe, nature, others and myself; to have peace of mind knowing that every day I live an intention-filled life of my own creation.

Now what do I do with this purpose? How do I ensure that I am consciously living it and adhering to it?

Being a lawyer, my first instinct is to parse the purpose itself - to break it down into smaller parts and examine each one further:

- to live a passionate, joyful life

- in which I continually challenge myself to achieve my dreams and act courageously

- to have unabashed love for and connection with the universe, nature, others and myself

- to have peace of mind knowing that every day I live an intention-filled life of my own creation

Starting with the first:

1. To Live a Passionate, Joyful Life

What does it mean to me to live passionately and joyfully? What does that look like?

- Passionately means I am pursuing things that I am passionate about, things that hold meaning to me. It could be a variety of things, such as my health, my interests, community or social causes or things that bring me enjoyment, such as travel, reading, writing and self-discovery.

-  Joyfully means happiness to me, elation even; I picture laughing, lightheartedness and being easygoing. To me, living joyfully means not taking myself too seriously and having gratitude for the wonderful things that are present in my life.

What does living passionately and joyfully look like to me?

It looks like pursuing things for the interest, pleasure and satisfaction that these things give me, without the expectation of profit or gain from them in a monetary, social status or acknowledgment type of way.  A few years ago I took a leadership development course. The course required me to take a test that revealed my working style, personality and my predominant values. Skeptical of its accuracy, I was shocked when I received a 32 page description of myself that was bang on. The description revealed that one of my core values was "utilitarian", meaning that I do not like doing things for the sake of doing them; I want some usefulness or gain from taking an action. While I recognize this value is certainly productive in the workforce, I think it has steered me away for pursuing hobbies or trying things that I do not think will benefit me down the road financially or career-wise. And often when I learn or read about something, I think about trying to remember the details so that I can recall this information later; admittedly even, so I can sound smart, knowledgeable, be a good conversationalist. But really, I also have a desire to learn and try new activities just for the sake of it, though I often do not. I would like to break out of this utilitarian mold and experience following passions for my passions' sake.

This isn't to say that I currently do not pursue my interests or things I enjoy. I certainly do, but I want to devote more time to some that I have let fall to the wayside, or ones that I have thought about pursuing and haven't due to my perception of their limited "usefulness" or that I will not be good enough at it for it to be worthwhile trying.

Living passionately and joyfully looks like me being busy - busy having fun and actively engaged in things I enjoy and am curious about. Doing new things, being open and feeling a lightness within me. Welcoming the new and change. Jumping in head first without taking things too seriously. Being present. Experimenting, learning by doing and enjoying the process. Wow... writing this out, I FEEL excited. I feel like YES! That is exactly how I want to live!

Okay, given how fired up I am, I decided to throw myself a challenge: every morning this week, I will read this description of what it means and what it looks like to like passionately and joyfully. And every day this week, do something that I am passionate about. Let's see what happens.

Ramping up for the New Year

As 2014 looms around the corner, I have been taking stock of the year passed and what's to come in the year ahead.

Some great things happened to me in 2013:

- I have become closer with certain family members, such as my sister, a set of aunt/uncle cousins and overall have a deeper appreciation and love for my family as a whole

- I've forged an even deeper connection with my husband, the most amazing man I know

- I have more open communication with my boss and am more direct with him and my colleagues

- I have done some great travelling, including a lifelong dream ski trip to Whistler

- I completed the Landmark Curriculum for Living and took on a project to raise money for single mother families in Africa - a huge undertaking that involved several communities in my life and challenged me to achieve something beyond my wildest dreams

- I got further involved in community, volunteering at a senior's home and joining a board of directors of a school

- I've had a lot of fun celebrating friends and family's birthdays, weddings, engagements and babies

- I've enjoyed my city, great food, movies, etc.

All-in-all, 2013 was a wonderful year and I feel really blessed for everything that has happened.

On the flip-side, I cannot ignore several areas of restlessness that I have felt within my life:

- I want to switch careers and I am uncertain of what that transition will look like and what I really want to do

- I would not consider myself to always be living my life actively. In other words, I recognizes times when I have been living passively out of fear, laziness of an overwhelm to take action or make choices. I'll choose to lie on the couch and watch TV instead of writing, figuring out my next career move, being more active in managing my finances or working on a deeper spiritual connection with others, myself and the universe.I have procrastinated in getting in touch with people or returning communications from people. At times I have felt agitated, like a person without a direct path laid out and it's caused me discomfort; and likely been the cause of me having moments of overreacting. It's made me feel a void and recognize that while I can be having fun, it doesn't lead me to feel like I'm living a meaningful life.

After some self-reflection, I have decided that 2014 is going to be a year of explosive growth for me - a year where I really challenge myself and live life meaningfully.

What does it mean to live life meaningfully? Still discovering this myself, I turned to a blog post I once read by Steve Pavlina, a personal development author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur, called: How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes. I've been meaning to do this exercise from quite some time now, but I will admit something: Though I have taken several personal development courses, I find self-reflection to be challenging and sometimes even draining. So after a year of procrastination, yesterday I sat down and did the exercise, which comes with simple instructions:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open a word processor where you can type

2. Write at the top, "What is my true purpose in life?"

3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn't have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.

4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

I found it hard to concentrate after a while. Impressively, some answers I wrote along the way did stir some emotional chord within me. It was challenging for me to sit through the entire excercise in one shot and I did get up to go to the bathroom right when I was on the verge of my own great life-purpose discovery. Nope, life purpose can wait - I had to pee.

Here is what I came up with:

To live a passionate, joyful life in which I continually challenge myself to achieve my dreams and act courageously ; to have unabashed love for and connection with the universe, nature, others and myself; to have peace of mind knowing that every day I live an intention-filled life of my own creation.

I think it could probably be distilled further but what struck me as I went to pee (the interruption at least yielded a positive result) is this: perfection does not have to look perfect. This realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Since I was in my early teens I have lived much of my life as though I needed to look perfect. This principle has governed a lot of what I do or don't do, what I say or don't say. While I have been trying to break the mold, old habits die hard. And then recently I was at a friend's house and we started talking about a mutual friend of ours (I know, not nice, but it sometimes happens) who, my friend described, has always had a need to look cool. This was actually a bit of a shock for me to hear as I always looked at her in awe for having it all together. It was the first time that I looked at her differently - not to say that my other friend is right about her. But I thought to myself - if this is, in fact, an act and she is only pretending to have it all together, then I felt was compassion and empathy. I thought - how lonely is it to pretend and not be able to be yourself - to truly be vulnerable and share fully with your friends?

That is not how I want to live in relationships, in my career or even in my hobbies, such as blogging.

With this all in mind, I turn to the year ahead. Every year I make a list New Year's resolutions (I did the same on this blog a year ago) and forget about them or give up or don't even bother to try. This year, however I am only going to make one: to live my true purpose in life. To life it passionately and to observe what comes out of doing so. And to realize that perfection doesn't have to look perfect. And what a relief that is!

This post is dedicated to my loving brother who encouraged me to continue blogging in the new year. Happy New Year Bro!

Building Dreams - A Project in Weight Lifting

 Part II of my adventure in the SELP program

When I started the Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Program (SELP), our program leader warned us not to take the course if we were unwilling to feel uncomfortable. I can handle that, I said to myself. How uncomfortable can things get? I soon discovered the answer was VERY. Since I have started this program, I feel like I have been on an emotional roller coaster.


In my last post I shared my possibilities of being courageous and fulfilled. I recently added on the possibility of inspirational leadership. Declaring these possibilities, starting the course and picking a project have all been extremely empowering and exciting.

The project I picked was to raise money to build a community home for three to five for single mothers and their children in Malawi, Africa. Building a community home will create the possibility of safety, empowerment and community for single mother families. To raise money for the community home, I will be holding an evening fundraiser at the end of July. The fundraiser will consist of music, food, drinks, a silent auction and a raffle. I named my project Building Dreams.


Having decided on my project, I began sharing it with a lot of family and friends. The positive responses I received were amazing. People were eager to provide suggestions of organizations to reach out to, contacts they have and pitch in ideas. The support was so moving, it got me thinking about how much people can accomplish when they put their minds together for an inspiring cause.
 
While all this creating and sharing got me pumped, I soon started feeling scared. Many people asked me "How are you going to accomplish this?" I had to admit, I had no knowledge of fundraising, let alone building, let alone building in Malawi or where to find the candidates for the home. My mind went into doubt mode. What if i fail? Why did I have to go and pick a project so big?

I knew if I was going to accomplish this, it was essential I find an established organization to partner with me. I started researching organizations that either build or help single mother families in Africa. I was exceedingly impressed by all the wonderful things charities are doing in Africa. While I felt intimidated to reach out, I started emailing and calling these organizations. I was so nervous the first time I connected with someone over the phone, I had to laugh at myself. Why is this so scary? I wondered. I am reaching out to help others! Still, I had to delete and rerecord a few ridiculous sounding voice mails.

I also quickly realized that I could not accomplish the fundraiser alone - it is so much bigger than me. To make it happen, I needed the assistance of my friends. But even more intimidating than reaching out to organizations, was the thought of asking my friends for help. If they say no to helping, they are rejecting me, right? Wrong, but it can feel that way when I am asking people I care about and admire to take an interest in something that is important to me.

With no organization getting back to me and no friends assisting, I felt so anxious I actually thought about quitting the program. Two things held me back. Firstly, I had told so many people about the project and I did not want to be seen as a quitter. Secondly, I knew I would never forgive myself, because under all the fear, I know I can accomplish the project.

I spoke with my SELP coach about my hesitation to reach out to my friends and we ran through a mock conversation where I asked a friend to get involved. My coach told me that my asking is like flexing a muscle that I do not typically use. It may feel uncomfortable first, but it will get easier over time.

I was pretty anxious the first few times I asked friends to get involved. Not everyone said yes. But then again, not everyone said no. In fact, I was blown away at how many of my friends have offered to provide assistance in some way or another. My project team was growing steadily. And through the exercise of asking people for something, I learned how to disconnect their response from me emotionally reacting to it.

And then at the end of last week, fantastic news came - Habitat for Humanity Malawi agreed to partner on this project! While the organization does not build community homes, it agreed to build separate homes for single mothers in the same village. This will help keep with the project's aim of providing single mothers with a feeling of community. As one of Habitat's initiatives is aimed at helping vulnerable women in their own communities, the organization will find a village with several single mother families and build there.  Therefore, this project will not only be changing the lives of these families, but also helping to transform a village!

I was so ecstatic to receive the news, I could barely sleep that night. I felt like I was on Cloud 9. This project is really happening! I feel confident that through donations, corporate sponsorships, fundraiser ticket sales and auction items, enough money for three homes can be raised. Now, I just need to keep my confidence up and keep on pushing forward until this goal is met. And, being honest, this is a constant struggle. I have not been one to take the leadership role in past activities or even in my social life. I am much more of a go-with-the-flow, tell-me-where-to-be-and-I'll-be-there type of person. I am eager to try out this new side of me, but still have moments of nervousness. The muscle still needs work, as my coach would say. So, prepared for some soreness, off I go to lift some weights and put on muscle.

An Exciting New Project

I started the Landmark Self-Expression and Leadership Program (SELP) two weeks ago. SELP is the third course in the Landmark Education Curriculum for Living. Landmark Education is a company that specializes in helping people living a fulfilling and powerful life. The course allows participants to practice what they learned in the first two seminars via each participant taking on a project of their own choosing. The project is a community-based project; essentially, a project where you involve and enroll a community in your life. We have just over three months to accomplish our projects, which seems like no easy feat after listening to some of the amazing past projects completed.

I had told myself going into SELP that I was not going to do a charitable project. I was feeling a bit deflated and restless, feeling like I want a new life pursuit, but not knowing what that should be. Honestly, I was in a what's in it for me? mindset, where I was thinking I want to help myself first and foremost. "I'm already volunteering" I told a friend one evening, "and what I'm doing is enough."

The first day of our course was a 12 hour Saturday and, surprisingly, the time flew by. I got completely fired up and motivated by all the positive energy in the room  and hearing what all my coursemates were looking to accomplish through their participation in the program.

We declared our possibilities and shared what we were looking to accomplish through our participation in the course. The possibilities I created for myself are being courageous and being fulfilled. What I am seeking to accomplish is discovering my life's passion and creating a business.

We were put in smaller groups, each with a coach who we would engage with weekly throughout the course. My coach asked the group what act each of us were going to give up for the duration of the course. Mine is self-doubt. Self-doubt has stopped me from taking action several times in my life (including stopping me from writing this blog) and I am determined not to let it get in the way of me contributing 100% in this course.

Lo and behold, two interesting things came to mind:


Firstly, I got inspired for a community project and it has nothing to do with me and all about helping others. My project details still need to be worked out, but it will involve helping single mother families in an impoverished area with support they need to their survival.

The inspiration for the project came in one of those aha moments, which happened to be in the middle of the night. I woke up the night after the first course date to use the bathroom and when I got back into bed, I heard a noise. For a moment I felt scared. What is this noise? Almost instantaneously, I realized I was completely safe in my bed, in my apartment and in my community. I then thought of how many women around the world are not as fortunate as me to live in an environment where safety and security are things taken for granted. In my nightly prayers, I often thank God for having been born in Canada - a place of peace, safety and opportunity where women have equal freedom of rights. I realized, because of these blessings, I have the ability to help other women who are less fortunate. And from there, my project idea developed.

I have decided to write about my experience during this course, documenting what I accomplish, how I feel and what surprises come up for me. I am so excited for what is to come :)

The second thing that came to mind, was an interesting conversation that transpired with my coach last week. I was sharing my initial project idea, but then said "oh, I haven't done enough research, I do not know where/how/if it's even feasible."

My coach told me that so many people are so concerned with getting it right that they stop themselves from moving forward. "The most important thing is to take action." Her words really hit home for me, as one of the primary reasons I stopped blogging was I was concerned about writing each blog post perfectly... I was meticulous in editing my writing, which took a lot of time and added self-imposed pressure. That, combined with my New Year's Resolution of writing four blog posts per month made the task (which was supposed to be a hobby) seem overwhelming.

All I really want to accomplish, when I look at my inspiration for the blog, is to write, share and express myself and connect with others. The perfect writing may come over time with practice, but practice requires action. So, as I promised my coach, I am putting my self doubt aside and I am giving up the need to get it right. Instead I'll just write.
 

Why Don’t We Do What We Want to Do?

Just Do It. Nike's slogan makes taking action sound so easy. Physically speaking, it is. Want to run? Go outside and put one foot in front of the other. Want to write? Grab a pen and paper and write. Want to learn something new? Read about the subject or enroll in a course. While the action itself is often evident, mental roadblocks can make even the smallest of tasks seem overwhelming.

Over the past week I have twice found myself in conversations about the dilemma of people not doing what they want to do. Everyone wants to accomplish a wide variety of things in their lives, be it pursuing hobbies, spending more time with loved ones or being financially responsible. Against our great intentions there is often a disconnect between what we want to do and what we actually do.

I realized I have a reoccurring failure in my life. Its latest incarnation came after I made a New Year's Resolution to work on my writing and publish at least four blog posts per month. Almost a week later, I started to work on my next post. Fear and apprehensiveness set in as I struggled to write a concise draft. I felt pressure to produce material if I was going to accomplish my resolution. I also experienced resignation that I was going to fail.

On Monday, I was in a group discussion where I was asked to share a recent challenge I was facing. Despite thinking my writing struggle was trivial, I divulged it to the group. Once I was finished, someone asked me: “When did this breakdown first occur in your life?”

My immediate inclination was to say the failure initially occurred when I struggled with my blog post. In fact, it first happened in high school. After some reflection, I pinpointed the breakdown's origin to be the first time I made a commitment to myself that I did not keep. In grade 10 I had gained weight and made a proclamation in my diary to lose the extra pounds. Throughout high school I had been skinny, healthy and had tremendous willpower and self-discipline. I strongly identified with that image, and as my body no longer matched it, I felt uncomfortable in my skin. I was also afraid of being judged or seeming weak by my family and friends.

I was not successful at achieving my desired weight loss for about two years and I felt badly about it throughout that period. Sharing this story evoked memories of subsequent commitments I made to myself in which I failed. My actions in all these cases were the same: I would make a declaration, often in a journal entry I would never bother to reread. The declaration might include a list of to-dos to achieve my goal. I would resist making the change or give up shortly later, when it got hard or I got lazy. In the end, I would resort to the familiar of keeping status quo.

The people I shared with have their own experiences of not doing what they want to do. One friend wants to exercise every day after work; something she has the time and ability to do and makes her feel great. Even with all in her favor, she has gone to the gym only once in the past month. Another friend wants to work less and focus more on his personal life; something he can choose to do as he is his own boss. A third wants to take on a unique project at work. Despite her boss having given her the green light to forge ahead with it, she has taken no action over the past year or so.

Listening to these stories, I realized I was in like company. We all have aspirations that (a) are within our control, and (b) would make us feel good.

The funny thing about not honoring my personal commitments is that while I am only responsible to myself, my self is constantly holding me to account. I never let myself off the hook; never stop wanting that commitment to be fulfilled. In the case of not doing something small, such as an activity I enjoy, this accountability appears as a nagging in the back of my mind saying, I want to do X. Why aren’t I doing X? For bigger ambitions, the inner struggle of wanting something accomplished and being paralyzed to strive for it, has caused me disappointment, regret and dissatisfaction.

So what is the solution to overcome this self paralysis?

Looking back on my life to identify the initial occurrence of the breadown and the familiar actions I take as a result has helped me recognize my behavioral patterns. After I discovered the failure, I examined what matters to me and how achieving what I want would factor into that. I decided that I am committed to being courageous in going after what I really want in life. 

With my patterns and my commitment in mind, the action seemed less daunting and I picked up the pen and wrote this blog post. As a result, my New Year’s Resolution is still in progress. And my self accountability just gave me two thumbs up.

Project New Year's Resolutions

The arrival of the New Year always evokes a variety of emotions in me. On the one hand, I feel nostalgic for everything that has happened during the past year. On the other hand, the blank slate of the year ahead, with its endless possibility and surprises, stirs a sense of wonder and excitement for what is to come.

Reflecting on 2012, I feel extremely grateful for what the year has brought me. In January, I was promoted at work and went to Jamaica with my girlfriends. I got engaged in February to the love of my life. In the summer, my friends planned two bachelorette parties (I have truly amazing friends), including a dream-come-true trip to Las Vegas. My husband and I married in September and went to Greece for our honeymoon. In the fall I took Landmark education, which empowered me to restore and improve relationships in my life (as well as with myself). I had fun, worked hard, had ups and downs and learned a lot.

Turning to 2013, I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish next and how that is going to shape the year ahead. Generally such musings lead me to create resolutions.

New Year's resolutions have been made for roughly 4000 years, originating with the Babylonians who would promise their gods they would return borrowed items and pay their debts. This tradition continued with the Romans who started the New Year by making promises to their god Janus, a two-faced god who looks backwards and forwards at the same time. The January month was named after this god.

Despite the long-held tradition of making resolutions, statistics regarding the success rates of keeping them are pretty dismal. According to the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, published December 13, 2012, only 8% of people are successful in achieving their New Year's resolution. 49% of people have infrequent success, while 24% never succeed and fail on their resolution each year.

Admittedly, I have had little success in accomplishing my own previous resolutions. Most of them I cannot even remember. Two years ago I decided to create easy ones and resolved to make more soup from scratch and floss more. Technically, I accomplished both (I made two or three soups and flossed about a dozen times), but certainly I earned no bragging rights here.

Perhaps the reason us "resolvers" are unsuccessful is because there is no accountability for New Year's resolutions. I often declare them only to myself or otherwise share them with friends after too much champagne. By the next day, no one remembers them, sometimes not even me. And I have yet to hear anyone say to my past failures, "but you resolved!"

According to the Scranton study, "[p]eople who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions." In attempting for 2013 success, I have decided to make my three resolutions explicitly published in my blog:

1. I am going to develop my skills as a writer. I will do this by writing in my morning journal at least five days a week, and by posting at least four blog posts a month. I also plan to publish some of my writing, at least one of them being a Facts and Arguments Essay in the Globe and Mail.

2. I am going to volunteer with seniors.

3. I will improve my organization skills at home and at work by cleaning out clutter and by creating a storage, filing and email system.

I will report on my progress every three months; in March, June, September and December. While I am not sure anyone other than myself will hold me accountable for accomplishing these three goals, I intend for my sharing of them to be a certain accountability in itself. And if I'm not up to speed when I report in March, please comment, "but you resolved!".