Maura’s December 2018 Newsletter

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Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (a little late, I know), Happy Kwanza, Happy Festivus . . . Seasons Greetings!

And Happy Almost New Year!

So, tell me if this sounds like you: you start the year with the best of intentions: you make resolutions to work out and eat better, you vow to stick to your marketing plan and stay in better touch with your clients… And then life happens.

Life happened to me this year in a big way! Sure, I (mostly) kept my work-out resolutions, and we (mostly) stuck to our marketing plan. We gave away our Thanksgiving Pies and sent out our Santa Letters. But I also only sent out about half of the newsletters I meant to (okay, maybe not even half), didn’t get around to most of the videos I had planned, and added a dozen items to my to-do list for every one that I crossed off.

I was on track to complete one of my big goals this year — to run 12 races of at least 10K or more in 12 months. I planned. I trained. I even flew to France to run two of them (and used it as a convenient excuse to plan a vacation to France!). When a reckless driver totaled my car in October, and then I missed my last two half-marathons in November, there was no way I could complete that goal. And it was a big one for me! So I mourned it a little (okay, more than a little), but then I made myself realize: it could have been much worse. So it meant I missed two races, and I would have months of fighting with insurance companies and having an unplanned trip to the car dealership, but we weren’t seriously hurt and a car is just a thing.

And guess what? I’ve moved my 12-races-in-12-months goal to 2019, and I already have a pretty cool schedule planned for it. Life got in the way, but I moved past it.

I’m here to tell you: it’s okay if this is also you. It’s okay if you didn’t meet every goal you set for 2018 (I didn’t), but what should you do? Celebrate the ones you did conquer. It’s okay to acknowledge that you procrastinate sometimes (I do), so what should you do? Time-block, calendar, create an ideal day or an ideal week to help organize your time better. It’s even okay to have a little pity party, to beat yourself up (just a little) when life derails you (I do), but what do you do next? You build yourself a bridge and get over it and move on.

But remember: it’s also okay to set lofty, pie-in-the-sky goals and have every intention of meeting them. As Nordstrom tells their employees: “Set both your personal and professional goals high. [I] have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.”

ACTION ITEM – Schedule your “Help Me Keep in Touch With You” Email
Every January, we send out a questionnaire to our entire database — in an effort to connect and reconnect with our clients and sphere of influence. The questions change slightly every year, but we always include basic questions like updating contact information, birthdays, etc. READ MORE (and get a sample questionnaire) HERE.

Article I’m pondering – I like to be inspired, and the turn of the new year is the perfect time for that. I may not be a big believer in New Year’s Resolutions, but I am a big believer in goal-setting. This article dates from January 2018, but it’s certainly a source of inspiration: Business Insider’s 30 highly successful people share their New Year’s resolutions for 2018. I can’t wait to read the 2019 version, but even more, I want to hear your New Year’s goals!

Podcast I’m recommending – Headlong: Surviving Y2K. As we approach the New Year, take yourself back in time to Y2K — when concerns ranged from “my laptop may not work in the morning” to “the sky is falling!” This six-episode podcast is a pretty fascinating look at the stories of a few people around the globe and how they perceived and dealt with Y2K, and how their New Year’s Eve went. It’s entertaining, befuddling, and will doubtless make you reflect back on where you were on New Year’s Eve, 1999. A great listen if you’re embarking on a holiday road trip. (Warning: a few episodes do contain strong language and adult content.)

What are some of your goals and to-dos, challenges and questions for the remainder of 2018? I’d love to hear about them and how I can help you reach them! Email me and let me help to keep you accountable!

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Thanks for reading – see you next month!