Talane’s Blog of the Week, January 16, 2006

Happy New Year!

I just returned from a three-week Christmas holiday in Wisconsin with my family and I hate to admit that it was probably one of the worst Christmases I’ve ever had. My 15 month old got an ear infection on the flight over — her first real sickness. She had 10 days of antibiotics and cried almost the whole time, poor dear. My entire family caught terrible colds the first week. The next week, after facing the fact that she could no longer manage her stairs, we moved my grandmother into a nursing home. Finally, just as we began to have a few good days, we all caught a stomach ‘flu!

Needless to say, we are glad to be back in England. We felt bad about our holiday until we discovered dear friends here had the ‘flu for three weeks so we probably would have gotten it, regardless. Misery does love company.

What kept us going were our plans to move into our fabulous, new to us, old home — our dream house! As soon as we landed, weary and jet-lagged, off we went to secure the keys so we could let workmen in to sand all the floors before we moved. A very wise idea as the dust was everywhere. For the first time in my life I had the movers do the packing and it was heaven. I’ll never pack myself again, if I can help it. The move went effortlessly (if such a thing is possible) and after a week of unpacking boxes, we feel settled in. Hooray! I’m still pinching myself — this home is the stuff of dreams.

So here it is, 2006. This year my plan is to handle the icky stuff in January and get it out of the way for the rest of the year (taxes, legal issues, wills, etc.). I’m working on the principle of doing the hard stuff first (the stuff I’m procrastinating on because I don’t want or know how to handle it), so I can relax and do the fun stuff (coaching, speaking, writing books) without worries.

What are you putting off? It’s time to tackle it. If you don’t know how, hire or find someone who does (I need a UK accountant who understands US tax laws). If you are afraid, hire a coach to talk you through it until you are ready and eager to get it done. If you’ve been procrastinating for over a year, consider it a dead goal. Toss it out, cross it off your list and choose something more exciting to work on instead. (A journalist told me she crossed off French lessons after five years of not taking them and finally feels free.) Liberate yourself for the things you are really committed to.

And, if you haven’t made your Wish List for 2006, do it now! One client has already had four things on her list come true, and all she did was make the list.

Looking forward to a great 2006!

All the best,
Talane