Kick the Year Off Right: Set Your Theme for 2006!

What is your theme for 2006 going to be? I'm not asking what your goals are with accomplishments by dates, or what your resolutions are going to be. Rather, what your vision or dream for the upcoming year is going to be. What do you feel energy or excitement around? What is it that you will be able to wrap yourself around and embrace? What is the thing that you can really connect with? What engages your imagination and feels compelling. That "something" that makes you want to work towards it, give it life, and make it dance!

Relax - this does not have to be a linear process. It can be as full of creativity as you desire. Some clients have created collages, others have picked a theme song and others have used menus as their theme.

Are you excited? Are you ready to place YOUR theme on 2006? Ready to give it life and feel it pulse? Here are some questions to stimulate your thoughts:

1. If your vision were a piece of music, what piece would it be?
2. If your vision was from nature, what would it be? Perhaps it would be a tree, the ocean, a babbling brook, etc.
3. What does your vision taste like?
4. What does your dream smell like?
5. Is your dream a color?
6. What other senses can you use to develop your vision?
7. What if your vision were a thousand times bigger? Describe what it would be.
8. Are you forcing anything? Where can you ease off?
9. What metaphor would you use to describe your vision?
10. What can you take less seriously?
11. Are there any rules you are holding on to? What can you eliminate?
12. How would a 6-year old describe your vision?
13. Ask yourself some "what if" questions. What if ________?
14. Add one outrageous or wacky element to your vision.

Use these questions as a springboard to jumpstart your theme creation. Be as free, wild and inspired as you'd like. It's your theme, something for you to create and watch it take shape and evolve over the coming months. This exercise is meant to be a fun and productive way to start 2006.

Once you've identified your theme for the year, take a moment to think about who you are and who you wish to become. See yourself one year from today.

1. If you could have anything you want and no possible way to fail, what would it be? What do you most want for yourself?
2. When you look back on this period of your life, what do you want to remember? What experiences do you want? What accomplishments?

Write a letter to yourself that describes where you will be one year from today based on the questions above. Date it and seal it in an envelope to be opened only by you, and put it in a place where you'll find it one year from today.

Enjoy it, and remember that the sky is the limit!

Happy 2006 - and beyond!
Eva