Thinking back on the past 3 weeks, it seems 2011 was already a month ago. The holidays have come and gone, and the dreaded long haul from MLK Day to Memorial is quickly approaching for us in the U.S.

res·o·lu·tion/?rez??lo?oSH?n/

In thinking about how to approach the year we have jumped into, the cliche of “New Years Resolution” resonated with me. The definition of Resolution is ‘A firm decision” – key word firm. I thought to myself, what could I do that would be a change in my life that I could focus on in 2012 but would last greater then one year. While gym membership / activity sky rockets in Quarter 1, with the “I’m going to lose weight” group, I thought I would try a new approach in my personal goal.

I thought of the approach of the phrase coined by the book – “How Do You Eat An Elephant? One Bite at a Time. by Bill Hogan” . Smokers don’t quite overnight nor can a person expect to see immediate change in their life starting on January 1. Deni noted on facebook not too long ago, “People worry so much about what they eat Christmas to New Years, they should think about what they eat from New Years to Christmas”.

What is my firm decision, as my 2012 Resolution? A few things actually! During the holiday season, I spent time with family and began to develop a strategy to improve in the new year. I thought what do I need to do to get to my goal – Remove the Noise from my life. This is a variety of things, but the key is what do I need to do, to get their, versus what is my goal.

1. Mental Health – Quit sweating the small stuff. Somethings we acknowledge are out of control. When I travel, if something happens to me, I know it’s beyond my control. Let more roll of your back, and not lose sleep over the small things. (As I type this at 5am).
2. Financial Health – I have balanced my checkbook in Microsoft Money since 1998, and have since 2000. MS quit supporting it last year, and the direct connection to banks has gone manual. Is having a budget noise, you may think, but I wanted to focus on curving my spending habits.
3. Physical Health – To have good mental health, I needed to get this back on my list. Minus the ankle that still makes a unique clicking sound when I walk, I hope to be up to full speed to return to more activities after the visit to the specialist later this month.
4. Work Life Balance – In looking back in 2011, the amount of “me” time was a bit less then I had hoped. With losing a bit of vacation during the annual rollover, I anticipate making a comeback in 2012. My goal remains, 5 Repeat Countries and 5 New Countries which I have achieved or exceeded every year but 2011 (Only 5 Repeat Countries and 1 New). Planning the vacation for the spring now. With the right money saved, this supports Mental and Physical Health. (I have an awesome team at work, that helped me realize its okay to take a break)
5. Private Pilots License – Yes…. Everyone knew this would eventually make the list, and I hope to complete this in Quarter 1 of this year. I have flown about 165 hours in small general aviation planes, with 23 hours of lessons, and 6.5 of that in the first week of 2012.
6. Continue to Appreciate what I am fortunate to have in life, and give back when possible.

That is how I am going to Remove the Noise in my Life in 2012 – I will provide updates on each one as the year progresses. Do you have a resolution? Send me a note, or comment below, we can look back in 2013 on what we planned to tackle.

Happy New Year!

Hopefully 366 for 2012