The new year is right around the corner. What changes are you going to make in your life?

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Everyone believes they need to make big changes but the only big change you need is the change to your thinking. 

Change your thinking and you will automatically change dozens of small things you do every day. That’s because action follows thinking. 

Things to Think About in 2014:

(1) Why?  Why am I doing things the way I am doing them? Why am I using that media? That message? Who suggested it? Am I testing it?

(2) Think of each day as a gift. What you do with that gift is up to you. Will you waste it? Make it productive? Enjoy it?

(3) Consider that who we are is determined mostly by our environment — until we become aware of this fact — then it’s up to us.

(4) Remember that you can’t eliminate all mistakes, but you can stop repeating them. Are you repeating mistakes? 

(5) Just because something has never been done doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Maybe you were meant to do it.

(6) Share what you learn. Share the credit. Share the success. Take responsibility for the flops.

(7) Spin sucks. Do not "spin" mistakes. Apologize for them. Do not "spin" bad news and try to make it look good. Put your best foot forward — but be honest. Geez, who raised you? 

(8) Good communication can solve most problems at home, at work and in your community. Good communication starts with listening. Listening starts with caring about the other person.

(9) A good life has a positive impact on others, even after you are gone. A great life makes your children proud of you and shapes their values.

(10) Finally, Reflect over the past year. Think about things you'd like to do better this year, new things you'd like to try and people you'd like to make amends with or start over with. Have you achieved the things you wanted to in the past year? What specific things would you like to change or redirect? Asking yourself questions about progress, change and where you want to be right now can help to keep your perspective fresh, giving you new motivation to make this year a more fulfilling one.

Anything you regret saying? Anyone you wish you could apologize to? If there is, apologize and make things right with them. You don't want to worry or regret anything when you start the new year.

Was this past year so great you don't want it to be a new year? Great, make a scrapbook or diary entry about how great this year has been. But tell yourself the new year will be even better. Build on the lessons you've learned and keep the good things coming.

Was this past year such a terrible year for you that you worry the new year will be more of the same or even worse? Thinking that way may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Nobody expects you to fly when your wings feel broken but it's important for your own well-being to start finding small ways to mend your dreams. Treat yourself with greater compassion and hang out more with folks who have kind hearts. Focus on making this coming year a much gentler, kinder one. This might include letting go of things that are causing you anxiety––scary at first, but really liberating when you finally do it.

Peter has been active on the C# and other MS newsgroups, has had samples at gotdotnet.com (now codegallery.com) that have been downloaded over 56,000 times, and has written numerous articles for eggheadcafe.com, for which he is a co-founder, and MSDNAA sites. He has also been a technical reviewer on books from Prentice Hall, Manning and other publishers. Peter was a Microsoft MVP for 10 years. Peter was born and raised in New York City, and after a stint as a jazz musician playing contrabass with the Robert Hunt Trio, migrated to sunny Florida, where he was hired as a rookie Financial Consultant at Merrill Lynch in Orlando, specializing in Corporate Services. It was at Merrill that Peter realized computers and technology were his forte. He spent his last few years at Merrill developing real – time computerized trading and and stock charting program using advanced technical analysis indicators, some of which are his own inventions. In 1997, he moved on to architect and serve as lead developer on a number of innovative web-based and middleware solutions for the healthcare and financial services industry.

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