Taking Time to Celebrate Our Dreams & Goals

By Marilyn Brant

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Call it an occupational hazard of having spent so many years as a teacher but, to me, the "New Year" never really started on January 1st. Instead, I always liked to ring it in on July 1st -- yes, today -- when the old school year had officially ended and the new school calendar was set to begin. (So, hey, let's bring out the noisemakers and pop some champagne, shall we?!)

For my family, the winter holidays are routinely a frantic time of trying to meet up with relatives and friends -- often amid snowstorms, hail, and freezing temps, given that most of us live in the American Midwest. But mid-summer? Busy, to be sure, but my husband is a high school teacher and our son is a teen...so, we all still think of early July as vacation time with a range of more laid-back family events, fun outdoor activities, and evenings when we can stay up late and watch DVDs together without needing to get up the next morning at the crack of dawn.

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Because of the lighter workload for us all, we tend to finally have time to review the highlights of the prior July-through-June year, reflect on the most meaningful accomplishments for each of us, and look ahead to our goals for the next year. There always seems to be some challenge we're especially proud of having mastered (for me, it was hitting the USA Today Bestseller List for the first time back in September), and at least a handful of new ones that we're still striving to meet. (I'm definitely still waiting for that Hollywood movie deal...LOL.)

I appreciate the time the three of us get to spend sharing these achievements and goals with each other, though. It's become a family tradition. My husband and I have collected two decades' worth of them since we got married, and it's an intriguing thing to look back on what we'd hoped to accomplish five or ten or fifteen years ago. To see which dreams we succeeded in reaching, which ones we've still got our fingers crossed about, and which ones we dropped because they proved to no longer be as important to us as they once were.

PRIDE, PREJUDICE & THE PERFECT BET
(the sequel to Pride, Prejudice &the Perfect Match),
coming in JULY!!

In my writing career in particular, where it can be a long time between major achievements, I've found I needed both the encouragement that comes from reminding myself of goals I've met -- even tiny ones -- and taking the time to daydream about those I still wish to plan for and pursue...

It takes a lot of courage to keep working toward a big goal (it's a long game, this novel-writing thing) so, in my opinion, it's necessary to applaud the small steps along the way. We ought to pause at least once every year and acknowledge the hard work we've done in the prior 12 months. For me, that day is today. For some of you, it may be January 1st. For others, another time. But, whenever it is, I really do hope you'll celebrate. You deserve it!!

Do you have any goals you're especially proud of having accomplished in the past year and/or some big goals you're still hoping to achieve? I'd love to hear about them! :)

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Marilyn Brant is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy & mystery. She was named the Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato. Visit her website: www.marilynbrant.com .