Crafting an Incredible 2013

We spent New Year's Eve with friends this year: in a little village just outside Shaftesbury. It was lovely to catch up with everybody and even lovelier to wake up to sunshine on New Year's Day.

Anyone living in the UK this year will recognise the significance of these photos! This small miracle grew into one whole sunny day without rain! A much needed lift to the spirits after a very wet Christmas and months of grey, rain and flood warnings.

In fact, this sunshine on New Year's Day inspired me to re-write completely the post I'd planned. Suddenly what I'd intended to write seemed too bleak, too retrospective. 

New Year is about looking forward, not back.

It is about hope. 

So here's the new improved version of the blog post. A post about my word for the year (in place of resolutions).

For 2013 my word is HAPPINESS.

This may sound a little odd, so let me explain a little. Recently, I stumbled across Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project. Sometimes these things appear in our lives, as if by magic, when we need them most.

Or as the Buddhist saying goes "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

And, as I devoured Gretchen's book, I realised that I was also "not as happy as I should be" with the life that I have. So it's time for a change.

In 2013, I intend to spend time focusing on the following (amongst other things):

•  getting to know myself as I am now, in 2013
• discovering what makes me happy 
• working on improving areas that cause me stress or unhappiness
•  finding ways to lift my mood 

I will be finding ways to be grateful for the life I have and ways to appreciate things around me. I intend to notice more and I will have more fun.

While I was planning my own Happiness Project (and thinking "how will I find time for all this?"), another 'teacher' appeared in my life. Another chance web link led me to Leonie Dawson. Her enthusiasm and joyous approach to life have been a huge inspiration in the few short weeks since I found her site! I will be using her 2013 Create Your Incredible Year Calendar & Workbook to help me fit these resolutions into my year and to start moving towards some of my other goals: personal, spiritual, business and financial.

 So with a little bit of creative time management there will be time for all the things I want to do. Time to grow my business, update my websites and get to grips with Twitter. Time to spend with my long-suffering OH, with family and with friends. Time for organisation and de-cluttering. Time to make things for me and my home as well as things for sale. Time for fun and time for relaxation.

Well that's the theory anyway!

I have so many things I'd like to achieve this year that if I only complete a quarter of them I'll be a very happy girl! I'll keep you posted with my progress...

I'd love to hear what you have planned for 2013 and any resolutions you have made.