What are you holding onto?  By that I mean, what in your life do you have a white-knuckled grip, either trying to steer or trying to hang onto?  While it's comforting to hold onto what's safe, the only way to accept new opportunities is to unclench your fist and open your mind.

 

This year, open yourself to new possibilities by making a conscious commitment to being optimistic.  Instead of resolutions this year, make a list of possibilities: What is your vision for yourself, personally and professionally?  Don't frame these as "if" statements; instead, make them "I can" statements.  While you're at it, take the time to celebrate your successes in the year just past.  Write them down.  Read them out loud.  Congratulate yourself.  Too often, we breeze past the accomplishments on the way down our to-do list.  Acknowledge and appreciate your own achievements.

 

Make 2010 your "year of being open."  Open your hand and heart to new possibilities, and open your mind to new ways of seeing and interpreting the life that unfolds around you.