What's Next? Let's "Tri"

Ah, New Year’s Eve!  Don’t you relish the tri-pronged pressure of this day?

·        Look back on the past year and list all your failures and unfulfilled expectations.  Be miserable. Didn’t anything good happen all year?  Can’t you think of one person or event that brought a smile to your face?  

·        Make a list of impossible resolutions for the coming year.  Share them with everyone you know.  Then, feel frustrated and disgraced by February when your well-intentioned plans disintegrate.

·        Party! Party! Party!  Even if your idea of a good time is to order take-out Chinese and tuck into bed by 10 PM – knowing that the ball at Times Square is going to drop whether you are awake or not.

Let’s take a different perspective on this day and the coming New Year:  How about setting goals for three things that you want to accomplish?  No pressure…take baby steps.  Any progress toward achievement is reward enough. 

What three things do I want to accomplish in 2012?

Shorten my time for a triathlon next year My goal is to shorten my finish time by 1 hour.  There is an ongoing argument with my coach.  Speed incurs more injuries!  I must respect his professional knowledge (and the fact that he is always right).  My point is that I want to work on strength and skills in the hopes that the speed will automatically increase (to a safe level).  Does that make sense?  There is another triathlon in March.  Oh, I hear the groans already… Yes, training for it has begun.  It will only increase.  I must figure out how to be more attentive to my husband, my family and friends, and my work in the process of this preparation.  Balance is the key word.

Publish a book This book has been an ongoing project for a year.  The time of reckoning has come.  The wait was worth it.  Time allows us more experiences to mature, to become more enriched, for opportunities to cross our paths, for the time to be right.  I think that the time may be right now.  I only hope that some agent or publisher thinks the same.

Start a foundation that will fund rehabilitation and exercise training for those with heart disease and other chronic conditions who cannot afford it The establishment of this foundation is the most important item on my wish list.  There is much more involved than I thought in the set-up of a nonprofit organization (501c3).  The start-up costs, including those for an attorney and accountant are exorbitant.  At a minimum they are $2000.00.  Those funds, plus some, have to be collected before any money can be considered for distribution.  If only I can find professionals willing to donate their services pro bono…

Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!