What comes to mind when I say that it is that time of year? Your answer to that question would give you some insight into your priorities. Most likely, it is not a time of year but a collection of times of year for you. Christmas shopping, decorating, sweater wearing, & caroling time? MLB trade time? NFL playoff contention time? Annual giving time? Year end review time? Time to start thinking about next year? Time to get cozy with friends and family?
One question that has been on my mind lately, really goes in stride with this time (the end of one year, beginning of another). It is a question of self-evaluation and a call to improve. What are you “going to start doing”? Close to a New Year’s resolution, the question motivates me to eliminate the future aspect and DO versus plan on doing. Popular answers that come to mind include eating better, exercising more, drinking more water (less of other liquids), sleeping more, listening more, writing or reading more, staying in touch, and so on and so on. Setting goals is a great way for us to measure our successes and learn from our failures.