Getting Ready to Make 2008 Totally Great
Each week through the month of December, we had small assignments – things we could do to go into 2008 ready to make it a fantastic year. . Of course, you can do this at any time, but it just seemed like we often have the best shot at it if we do it as a year closes and as a new one starts. This new year is only days old and you could still follow the 4 ideas below and make some really good stuff happen. If you use some of these suggestions, I really do think that you can make 2008 really, really great. Below each of the 4 parts, I've shown you examples from my own life or from other people.

1. Look Back over 2007. Before you head forward into a new year, take some time to look back at the year you just finished. It’s a good time to take stock. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself as your remember 2007. What did you do this last year? What was fun? What made you smile? What challenges did you face and how did things turn out? What changes did you see in yourself, your situation, or your family? Any milestones? What were the best events or memorable things you did this year? What goals did you reach or attempt? What did you leave unfinished or untouched that you meant to do in 2007? What new things did you learn or try this last year?
   
   I took a wonderful trip to Belize and had great experiences and adventures along the way. I am in the best shape of my life. I turned the corner as far as heating more healthy. I love the way I feel and my weight. I did a lot of firsts and more things off my Life List than ever before. I ran in Roses  to La Playa, the State Street Mile, and the Half Marathon. I raced in the SB Duathlon. I went trailrunning and began to learn to surf. I bought another kayak. I hiked to Camino Cielo from Romero Canyon and to the top of Cathedral Peak. I quit  my job at the County and started Open Air Fitness and am having a blast. I took a pottery class and laughed hard at my works of art. I read The Alchemist.  I went to New York, met Ilaria Montagnani and got certified to teach Forza.
   
   

2. Life List. If you already have a Life List going, it’s time to add to it. Add 20 new things to that list. If you haven’t ever had a Life List, now is a fantastic time to start one and aim to get 20 items on there. You can check out the Fun Stuff page for ideas on how to get a Life List going and exactly what one is. Keep in mind that a Life List a play list, not a to-do list and not a chore list. It’s not even a list of all the things you should do (bills to pay, job stuff, all that responsibility stuff) It should be filled with things that you find fun, entertaining, challenging, etc. Life Lists help us keep life fun and each day exciting. They also remind us of what life is supposed to be about – having fun, having experiences, making the most of our time, helping us to really live and to do it BIG. Here are some open ended sentences you can use to work on or add to your Life List. I wish I had the guts to ______________. I’ve always wanted to ____________________________. Someday, I ‘m going to ___________. At the end of my life I would regret not having done or tried _____________________. If I could not fail I'd ________________________. Your lists can involve things for just you, for you and your family, things to learn, places to go, things to do, books to read, physical or fitness challenges, activities or sports to try. As you can see these lists can include all sorts of things. The only limit is your imagination (and maybe your fears or rationalizations). I encourage you to destroy the word “can’t” as you do this (in fact, just destroy that word in your life in general). Create and add to your lists without talking yourself out of things – just dream. 
   
   Here are some things I added to my List in December:
   

   1.      Go see a stand up comedian
   2.      Do a full handstand with no support
   3.      Go to Pirate Dinner Theater Show
   4.      For one whole month, do something new every single day. Do something for the first time every day, something I’ve never done before.
   5.      Meet Michelle Akers
   6.      Indoor Skydiving
   7.      Take time every week to read for fun – stay in bed late one day of the weekend or lie in the hammock and just read – relax, slow down, and enjoy at least a few minutes every week.
   8.      Attend an NFL game – a team I like at their home field
   9.      Attend a Lakers game
   10. Ride or run to the end of the SB Pier and jump off into the water
   11. Take at least weekend camping trips in van at least once every 2 months
   12. See the pyramids in the Yucatan
   13. Roadtrip around US for 1 month
   14. Go to Puerto Rico with no specific plans.
   
   
   

   If you want to see my entire Life List, click here. 

3. Seven Wonders of Your World. Now, look over that Life List that you started or added to and come up with your top seven for 2008. Your Seven Wonders may not be someone else’s and they don’t have to meet up with anyone else’s approval. Your Seven Wonders are seven things that are important to you, sound fun to you, or will make 2008 really wonderful for you. They may or may not be your top seven for your whole life. Look for those that you really want to do THIS YEAR – the ones you just are aching to do, the ones you don’t want to put off for another year, but they should also be things that are actually attainable this year. Come up with these Seven Wonders and imagine yourself doing them – can you see it? 
   
   Here are my Seven Wonders for 2008:
   
   Puerto Rico with no specific plans
   Adventure Race
   Mud Run
   For one whole month, do something new every single day. Do something for the first time every day, something I’ve never done before.
   Whitewater Rafting
   Roadtrip around US for 1 month
   Wear my underwear outside my clothes on National Underwear Day.
   
   
4. Mantras for the New Year. Mantra? What’s a mantra? Or maybe you are thinking, “Wait a minute. This sounds like we’re heading off into some eastern mysticism or religious thing.” Mantras do have their roots in that sort of thing (in the Buddhist and Hindu belief that ideas become actualized by the power of speech), but I’m not taking it there. I think of mantras as short, powerful, phrases (or just a couple of words) that we play in our heads that define what we stand for, that focus us and give us the inner motivation we need to push through challenges and get the best out of ourselves - that unleash our hidden superhero. We can use mantras to get us to our goals or through a tough time when our minds or bodies are screaming at us “Just give up!” In the area of exercise, most of us don’t bonk (or feel totally depleted) because of some physical issue, but because our minds just plain quit on us. They say that 95% of everything we do (in exercise or in the rest of life) is mental. Mantras can boost your tolerance and give you that extra mental energy and strength to reach your goal. They can pull your inner superhero to the surface and make you do things you didn't know you could. So create mantras. Come up with at least one for your exercise and workout life and at least one for your overall life. Here are some good guidelines to follow while creating your mantras:
   1. Keep it short. Two words or a very short phrase. Keep it as simple as possible.
   2. Make it match your personality. It has to inspire you and work for you, not someone else. Easy going people have more easy going mantras. Intense people have more intense mantras.
   3. Find one anywhere – from music, or an article, or a conversation, or you can even just use the name of an event or activity you are training/planning for.
   4. Pick an area that you like to see improved, changed, or brought to the surface and pick a phrase or couple of words that define that . Choose two or three words (adjectives) that really capture the essence of the real you or who you want to become. Maybe something like daring and brave; young and fun, dreaming and doing, or wise, confident, and able.

Now you can come up with as many mantras as you want in as many areas of your life as you need them. Come up with at least two – one that captures what you want from yourself in the area of your fitness and exercise and one for your overall life. When you learn how to use them, mantras can tap into stores of hidden energy and strength. You are capable of so much more than you think! Here’s how to put mantras to work for you. Write them out on post it notes, slips of paper, or notecards and put them up in places where you’ll see them often – tape them to the refrigerator, on the bathroom mirror, on  your computer monitor, on the dashboard of your car, or on your coffee cup. Make them the background on your computer or the greeting on your phone screen. Just get them out there where you will see them everyday. Or etch your mantra into a rock, or write  it on a small card that will fit in your pocket. Every time you grab that rock or card, or see the notes, say your mantra out lous or just under your breath. Or yell one out while you are working out, or driving, or be a bit of a nut and yell it out where ever you may be (grocery store, DMV . . .). Say them when you start your day, end your day, or hear that voice of doubt. If you really do this mantra thing, you’ll be amazed at what they can do for you.

Here are some examples of my mantras:

Here are some other mantras I've heard or read. Recognize any of them?

Want to see even more mantras? Check out this page on 43 Folders.