New Year’s Resolutions

1335432_new_year_1By Amanda Smyth Connor

I hope this blog post finds you all enjoying a wonderful holiday season and looking forward to an exciting new year. As far as how I will be spending my new year’s eve, aside from the inevitable lampshade-hat I will wear sometime around 1am, I will be spending the evening with close friends and loved ones, playing nerdy bored games, dancing to 80’s music and sharing hilarious stories and memories.

As far as my resolutions for the coming year, I’m taking a different approach. I resolve to work to make small changes in my career and in my daily life that will add up to big improvements.

This is my theory.

I’m not going to resolve to lose 20lbs, I’m going to resolve to kick my gym routine into higher gear.

I’m not going to resolve to finally write that novel, I’m going to resolve to draft a good outline. And maybe I’ll write one chapter.

I’m not going to resolve to write all of my blog posts and articles way in advance (totally not realistic,) I’m going to resolve to getting all of my work in on deadline (this blog post was a day late.)

If you set the bar at a reasonable level, instead of setting unrealistic goals for the coming year, you can give yourself the chance to exceed your own expectations.

Go into the new year with a sense of accomplishment, happiness and excitement. It’s going to be a wonderful year ahead.

Amanda Smyth Connor is a social media manager for a major publishing company, owns her own wedding planning business and has managed online communities and content development for many start-up and Fortune 500 companies.  She has been a professional editor for more years than she can remember.