Alexia Petrakos

Around this time last year was the very first theme I’ve ever claimed for the new year.

In 2009, I decided on “Learning.”

I wanted to learn about things I thought I wanted to do.

I took an intro to Art Therapy class from SCAD.

I wanted to learn more about myself and what it was that I was meant to do. And I think I may have finally got it (at least for now ).

I wanted to learn as much as I could about marketing and business. So I listened and read and signed up for a 6-month-long course.

I could be completely satisfied learning in one setting or another for the rest of my life. But I also learned that there is a time for action.

Out of all this learning came quite a few really good things:

• I learned what I really don’t want to do (trés important). I don’t want to be a therapist. Definitely don’t want to go back to school for a degree to do therapy in any capacity, even though I love psychology.
• I’m way more confident in my abilities, talents & gifts than I ever have been — although I do still have a long way to go.
• I “met” one of my favorite authors on Twitter and am working on a *big* thing to be released early next year.
• Thrive Creative Coaching, my new barely 2-month-old business, incorporates my love for creativity, helping people and idea generating (along with all my experience in the wild wooly world of web).
• I was introduced to some really awesome teachers and have interacted with some on Twitter: @havi, @ittybiz, @RockYourDay, @CharlieGilkey, @soniasimone, @jaredkessler… I may add a few more later
• Made some really awesome connections on Twitter and in real life.
• Got bolder. More Assertive. Less Namby-pamby-ish. But I still have a way to go…
• And I learned there are a few big things that are holding me back. I struggle with apologizing too much — it’s like I’m apologizing for existing. I’m also very scattered (although this wasn’t exactly a discovery, I did discover it’s going to be a big problem if I don’t do something about it soon). I’m also a GREAT starter – horrible finisher…
• I also found out that there’s no way in hell I’m doing any of this on my own. As a kid my first word in Greek was uttered as I was trying to tie my own shoes. Mom was trying to help and I shoved her away insisting “μπορω” or “I can!”  And this is how I’ve pretty much done everything — on my own. And it’s not going to work anymore.

This new year will be the first year I’m using Lisa Sonora-Beam’s Strategic Planner for my goal-setting.

My theme for next year is “Sovereignty.”

“That invisible crown that lets you know that you have the right to take up space in this world” -Havi Brooks

And I’m basing my “goals” (I hate that word… Intentions is a bit more what I mean, but the word’s a bit weak to me) on the qualities of the goddess Athena.

As a Greek gal, I figured the strongest of the Greek goddesses would be a great model for my new year.

So, my “goal” categories are:

Wisdom - Athena was often called on to mediate between the gods and her judgements were always wise, just and compassionate.

Creativity – In her “spare” time, Athena would teach pottery, weaving and other crafts to the Greeks.

Strength – As the goddess of war, Athena was a highly skilled strategist, bold and decisive. She was also the protector of the city-state of Athens and her sovereignty.

Compassion – Despite being the goddess of war, Athena was always compassionate. She would hesitate to completely obliterate anyone, even if they were in the wrong.

I’m still in the middle of getting all my stuff together for the next year. I’m trying to balance the need for flexibility with my need for structure to get stuff that I want to do done, and I hope the Strategic Planner will be a big help.

I’ll update a bit more on the specifics, but that’s about it for now.  Here’s a sneak peek at my strategic planner (I used this piece as a reference):

Are you doing a year-end review? What do you have planned for 2010? If you have a post on your blog about this, feel free to post a comment.

photo credit: karlnorling

Related posts:

1. Starred Items: Lemming-ish Year End Roundup
2. Creative Every Day Week 1
3. A Non-Starred Items Post – My Big Greek Family
4. Reclaim Your Dreams: A Review