Did you make New Year’s resolutions? This time of year we’re all thinking about what we want to accomplish in the New Year, to make this a better year for ourselves and our loved ones. How many of us make resolutions and fail to keep any as the year progresses? I’ve certainly fallen victim to losing sight of what I want, which is why I tend to focus on making goals that are attainable (sure winning the Lotto would be awesome but it’s not really in my control!), setting priorities and having fun achieving these.

Last year, one of my friends hosted a party to make a vision board. I loved the idea. We had a lot of fun making these and set some great goals for ourselves. It was inspiring to see what others hoped to accomplish. I made a point to check my own vision board several times a month throughout 2010 to remind myself what I wanted to accomplish. Seven of the 10 goals I set happened or are in motion. I’m pretty proud of myself!

But it’s a New Year and time for a new vision board. What do I hope to accomplish in 2011? What do you hope to accomplish? Come on, you must have some goals! I thought I’d share some of my goals for 2011 to help you get started:

Learn a new activity – Snowshoeing has been an interest for a few years. Winter is my least favorite season, however, I choose to live in a state that gets snow so figure I should stop dreading and start playing. Another interest is music. I grew up singing in the school choir but lately I’d love to learn to play an instrument. I’m narrowing between piano or guitar. Two new activities are certainly attainable. I have to admit this activity was on last year’s board so it’s definitely getting some attention this time around!

Be more active – While I consider myself fairly active already, I’d like to commit to getting outdoors more and practicing yoga more regularly. Justin and I already plan to commit to a weekly hike or bike ride once the weather warms up. It’s always fun to have someone to motivate and play with so I’m thrilled to have him alongside me.

Travel more – I’ve been blessed to travel to fun locations such as Alaska, Oregon and Ireland. We already created a list of places we’d like to visit in 2011, from Mackinac Island to camping locations throughout Michigan to Vegas (baby!). Can we make them all happen? I have faith.

Focus on professional goals – Writing a book is the ultimate dream/goal for me. I’ve been talking about it for years and decided enough blah blah, get busy. I had the wonderful fortune to have a publisher contact me last year to write a book on surviving cancer so plan to make finishing that book my priority. I also used to write 1-3 articles a year for cancer magazines, however, it’s been a while since I’ve submitted an article for publication. My goal is to change that.

Spend more time with family and friends – Yep, you’ve all been warned! Ha. I feel like 2010 was the year spent working too much, causing my family and friends to not get the quality time they deserve. These amazing people truly supported me through some challenging times. I hope to give back this year, showing them how much I appreciate each of them. And of course have plenty of fun!

My ultimate goal for the New Year is to relax a lot more and seriously stop sweating the small stuff. Less drama, more smiles. I want to live in the moment of each day, stop worrying about the little stuff and when I do focus on the future, it’s going to be on positive things that make me smile. I have so much to be thankful for and so many wonderful people in my life.

I have a few more goals in mind but these will get me started, and hopefully motivate you to start thinking of what you’d like to happen in 2011. Whatever you choose, whether or not you make a vision board, I hope this year is filled with much laughter, fun and satisfaction.