How many times have you made a New Year's resolution, only to give up midstream? No need to feel bad about that, maybe it wasn't the best thing for you to do anyway. And maybe you learned something from however far you went with your resolution.

In the 21st Century, things are changing fast. Between technological advances, natural and man-made catastrophes, environmental influences, chance happenings, a challenging job market, and new interests over time, our work and home lives are complex, unpredictable, and in continual flux. Let's break open the concept of a New Year's resolution to perceive endless possibilities as we welcome a new decade.

Here are five alternative ways to approach the New Year. Rather than place a value on any of these ways, I invite you to choose one that is appropriate for you, or share your unique way of approaching the New Year.

1.  Set a New Year's resolution. The traditional way to make a New Year's resolution is to set a goal and follow up with an action plan. If you don't have any goals in mind, assess your needs, explore options, and then set goals, with a step-by-step process to achieve your goals, including a timeline for each step in the process.

2.  Develop a mindset of continual re-invention. According to Jim Bright, a career educator from Australia, step-by-step planning no longer applies in today's chaotic world. Bright came up with "The Chaos Theory of Careers." The basic concept is that we need to develop a mindset of continual re-invention and recognize that stability paradoxically comes from continual change. He says, "Sometimes that change will be unpredictable, sometimes disproportional, sometimes painful and sometimes fabulous." 

3.  Be a human being, not a human doer. The above approach is sort of scary, isn't it? The unstructured world view calls for continual reevaluation of where we are at any moment. It's okay when we're meditating in yoga class, but what about when the trash collector is about to leave and one is determined to collapse one more box. In a hurry, one cuts through one's foot, resulting in 16 stitches, as happened to my yoga teacher at the end of December. Her lesson - being conscious all the time - not just in yoga class.

4.  Create harmonious relationships with others. Cherokee elders were found to use an intra-psychic way of coping that emphasized acceptance of life circumstances and the movement towards an inward focus of one's energies to maintain harmony and balance externally. According to Norm Amundson, professor at the University of British Columbia, in Native American culture caring for one's own well-being depends on harmonious relationships with others and with one's environment.

5.  Envision a cyclical seasonal perspective. Many Native American cultures embrace the ancient, cyclical symbol of the medicine wheel. Carl Jung, Daniel Levinson, and other theorists also use cyclical symbols of change that focus on the journey, not the end result. If we view everyone's life in a seasonal cycle, then as fall turns to winter, we turn inward, moving from structure to transition. We often have no vision or energy at the end of fall. We feel like sleeping more. Many experience fear, loneliness, depression, low self-esteem, cocooning. We may experience loss (i.e., of a job, a loved one, a home). We become angry, then grieve. We rest, heal, accept what is.

Winter is the time between dreams. Local career expert Bill Bridges notes that the brain is often foggy during this phase. In the Bay Area, one's foggy mind may synchronize with the foggy weather at this time of year. When we get enough sleep, we let go of the past, return to ourselves and become inspired, ready to uncover opportunities in the spring (Vecchio, Waller, and Zeng, 2010).

6.  Balance on the high wire. The Tightrope Artist Model is my approach to view the New Year. Balancing on the high wire, not knowing exactly how the New Year will play out, without a structured plan of action, is scary but also exciting. To balance on the high wire, you need to use all your senses: sight, touch, breathing, inter-motor, intra-psychic. Be in the present, but also take risks, let yourself fall off balance to find balance.

In the Tightrope Artist Model, you can start at any step, but in order to make decisions most effectively, you should cover all the steps (assess your strengths, explore options, set goals, create an action plan). In the Tightrope Artist Model, you can choose an option, and later change this (job/career/business/caregiving/retirement) to a different option. The word "resolution" or "goal" is replaced by "intention" in the Tightrope Model. If you change your focus, due to planned or unplanned events, you may choose to set a different intention and develop a new plan of action, or you may choose not to take action at this time.

Summary

Whether you make New Years' resolutions through a structured, step-by-step approach, just let things happen, apply a cyclical pattern, experience the seasons of change, let yourself fall off balance to find balance, or combine two or more approaches, one thing you can count on is that there will be a New Year, filled with possibilities, expected and unexpected happenings, and many learning experiences.

Dr. Sally Gelardin, Ed.D. (International & Multicultural Education), is a Marin-based nationally certified counselor, coach, and educator.  She teaches the Career Development Facilitator curriculum and CDF Instructor training through Floyd & Gelardin Training Group International, and interviews industry experts several times a month through Careerwell's live and recorded tele-interviews. For more information, visit AskDrSal.com or call 312-4294.