Fresh Starts vs New Year’s Resolutions I like Fresh Starts. I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. For me the issue is simple. Like many, I used to create my resolution list and 6 months into the year, much of the list was OBE (Over Taken by Events) - some in my control and some not. But nothing tied me to the outcome. With Fresh Starts we do not have judgments around the terminology (Resolutions). We haven’t failed because it is new every year. It is not a list we create similar to last year, but a new fresh start list for this year. The other part of this I like is I put intention into the new list. Intentions are great. This word has only existed in my vocabulary for a decade or so; prior to that, I was unfamiliar with it. Now I use it when I think about action items, to do lists, communication/discussion strategies, meetings, interactions and yes Fresh Starts, etc. Intentions allow me to be successful with Fresh Start lists. Another way to look at this is in order for an item to be on the Fresh Start list there must be a thought process around intentions first. If I am going to make a list in January I must think about my intentions and why I care about this and what a good outcome will be and how I figure out it will be successful. It is a thought process I go through which helps me determine why something is on the Fresh Start list. This does not need to be a grand production - just an activity that lets me be very clear about my life, my business and my interactions It is worth exploring. It ties together the mind and the heart and helps ignite passion in all that I do. And by the way, it keeps the flame burning.