There is a sprinkling of snow lying on the ground and the sun is shining. This is officially the first day back to work for many people in the UK ( some poor souls had to go back yesterday – I know).  As a home based consultant I am not affected by this now but I do recall how hard it was to get back into the swing when I had an “office job”. So I hope this post might give a little inspiration with ideas for life in 2008!

1. Find a way to exercise that you enjoy!  This has taken me a long time to do this but I realise that I love to dance. So I will take a leaf from the Strictly Come Dancing ( Dancing with the Stars) participants and vary my repertoire in 2008.
2. Consider your own personal impact on the environment and make a small change. ( or a big one if you feel you can sustain it!)
3. Do that thing you have always wanted to do this year! I don’t want to be gloomy here but none of us should take time ( and/or good health) for granted.
4. Pick up the phone , e-mail or write a letter but get in touch with someone who was an important part of your life and with whom you have lost touch. I find that writing Christmas Cards reminds me of so many people with whom I was in regular touch but now I have no idea what they are doing. In 2007 I met up with 3 old neighbours who I had not seen in years. We originally met through our children when they were very young. It was great catching up and even if our continued contact is only an occasional e-mail it was well worth it.
5. Go complaint free for 21 days. This idea was started by Reverend Will Bowen and involves wearing a band on your wrist which you need to change to the other wrist each time you criticise, gossip or complain. The aim is to think about what you are saying and stop if you don’t need to be nasty. No special equipment required - a simple hair bobble or rubber band would do ( the type dropped by our UK posties are ideal! That’s not a complaint you understand – it’s an observation!!). Now as someone who sometimes posts my complaints and moans I will commit to making sure that when/if I do I will also try to see the other person’s point of view rather than making it a one sided thing.
6. Ask for feedback. I know that for most people this is tricky but we often are hindered by lack of understanding of our real talent and the best way to get a clearer insight is to ask other people to comment. So be brave. This is not just a work thing. Ask people who know you/work with you to comment on what you do well and what they think you might want to work on. But remember  – if you don’t agree with them, and are clear about why you don’t – follow your own instincts
7. Sign up for a First Aid course. I had a situation recently when intuition kicked in when I had to deal with a medical emergency but I want to be more prepared. A recent report said that only about 10% of us would know what to do if we were with someone who was having heart attack when taking the correct action promptly can save a life.
8. Share. Ideas, contacts, wealth, love…..whatever.