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 Starting New Year's Resolutions in December? It might seem that December is not exactly the ideal time for making resolutions, what with all the parties and scrumptious foods to eat, wine to drink, money to spend, and such. :-) But what I'm suggesting instead is to use December as a time for preparation…so that you are fully ready and prepared when January rolls around.
We often don't even make our New Year's resolutions until January 1 or even after. But in truth, few things in life can succeed without real preparation. By the time most people recover from the holidays and get serious about their goals for the new year, the year is already several days or weeks old, and then they are already behind something they haven't even begun! I think people with creative temperaments are especially sensitive to "feeling behind" – and this feeling itself only thwarts creative productivity even more. This is why, even though my creative spirit thrives on being spontaneous and even a bit impetuous - I aim to make my New Year's resolutions early. It feels so delicious to have a lovely chance to breathe, explore and prepare for my dreams. It does my head and my heart good; so I'm not only getting a head start on things … I'm getting a "heart start", too. :-)
Here are four reasons to make your New Year's Resolutions now:
1) You will get to talk to people, think things over, and have time to decide whether in fact you’ve chosen the right resolution, or the right time frame, or the right way to go about making it happen. And by "right" of course I mean "right for you". The more you think about it, talk about it, journal about it, and doodle about it, you can really gain clarity about your vision and ensure that it is truly authentic to you and how you want to live your life. This is especially helpful around the goals that may feel a little vague or undefined, or resolutions that have more to do with what others expect from you, rather than what you truly want.
2) You can spend time imagining yourself embarking on your resolutions and see how it potentially plays out in your real life. Be objective in your imaginings, and ask yourself, are your resolutions really realistic? Perhaps you may even need to shed some resolutions down to a more manageable number. Often, one single heart-felt resolution is all your need, and if it goes well, you can always add additional quarterly or semiannual resolutions as well; perhaps in alignment with the change of the seasons or each solstice.
3) Beyond envisioning yourself living your resolutions, you can take it a step further and actually have a ‘dress rehearsal’, where you can take some small, tangible steps toward your goal and observe what happens. Do you notice places where you might need more information? Can you see that you need greater support to help you? What pitfalls or blocks can you anticipate and identify beforehand, so that you can be more prepared for them?
4) Perhaps the most important reason for getting your head/heart start is that you can take the time to allow your passion and excitement that is behind your resolution to really grow and expand. One of the best lessons I've learned in life is preparation: but passionate preparation is even better! Passionate preparation is when we are really feeling the joy about our goals even before they begin to take form. A fun visual for preparing passionately is stretching a rainbow colored rubber band further and further back till it contains just about all the energy you could put into anything, and then letting go and watching it soar across the sky.
Taking the time to think about your goals, plans, and resolutions now allows that true passion and inspiration to build so that by January, you are embodying the Anais Nin quote that is featured in today's Quotz Crystal…
If you are interested in having a unique, creative support system for developing "passionate preparation", you might want to take a look at The M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event, which begins November 30, 2010. Keep reading below for more details.
For those short on time, to simplify this week's Artellagram, here are some ”quick links” to the highlights in this edition. You can simply follow the links that you're interested in and go directly to that section.
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1. NEW! M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event Starts November 30! This week is an exciting week because we're announcing a new business-building program that we're starting in January: The New ARTbundance™ MENTORing and INVENTORing Network (M.A.I.N.), a 12-week ARTbundance™ Business Building Extravaganza, based on the ARTbundance™ Principles.
To start it all off, I’m launching the “M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event” starting November 30. The M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event consists of three weeks of highly-focused teleclasses and accompanying workbooks that apply ARTbundance™ Principles to real, practical tasks that will prepare both you AND your business for your significant upcoming growth spurt! We'll use ARTsignments (exercises infused with creativity) as our basis for discovery, as well as many other practical tools.
The M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event is a great way to finally get a jump ahead in preparing your business or creative project for the new year. The three teleclasses and accompanying workbooks include:
Teleclass #1: What you love about your business
(Principle of Gratitude)
Teleclass #2: What you want for your business
(Principle of Vision)
Teleclass #3: What you need to do to prepare for 2011
(Principle of Choice)
For more information and the complete class schedule, you can read all about the M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event here!
 2.NEW! Free Teleclass with SARK and Marney! On this coming Tuesday, November 16, best-selling author, artist, succulent wild woman, and transformational change agent, SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) is presenting a free teleclass called "SARK's Big Purple Dream Crayon", and I’m honored to be her special guest in the class. SARK will be presenting joyfull and practical tools for Naming and Claiming your Dream, and I’ll be hopping in to share some inspiring, helpful art projects, as well. I’d love for you to join us! If you can’t attend live on Tuesday, you can also sign up for a recording, as well. You can get the full colorful details about this free class, here!
SARK also just released her 16th book: Glad No Matter What: Transforming Loss and Change into Gift and Opportunity. It’s a wonderful book and I’m honored to be featured in it as I get to share a bit about my challenging but incredibly rewarding transition into parenthood in the section of the book called “Portraits of Joy and Transformation Through Change and Loss”. The book is really inspiring especially for those who feel difficult circumstances in life are keeping them from being truly happy..You can find out more about this terrific read by clicking here.
 3. Artella Member Ship Upgrades Complete! Thanks to feedback from our recent Member surveys, we've completely renovated the Artella Member Ship, upgrading all of our Memberships with new features and goodies to make cruising with Artella even more inspiring! I'd like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all of our loyal Members for your patience, encouragement, and enthusiasm – we're already hearing great feedback about the new upgrades!
If you're not currently a Member, you can read about all the new goodies in the Luxury Cabins, here! If one of our cabins is calling out to you – it's easy to sign up, and you'll get a "Welcome Basket" of free goodies and coupons, too! Come sail with us!
 4. What's new in the Artella Store? Just this week, we've added a new downloadable kit to the Artella store – “Map Majesty”.
You also might be interested in becoming a Studio Member, to receive a downloadable collage kit each and every month (this month: "Birds and Botanicals”!) You can explore all the Luxury Cabins aboard the Member Ship, here.
 5. Join the Affiliate Program! Join Artella's generous Affiliate Program and enjoy all the new affiliate tools that we’ve recently added. You can get more info by clicking here.
 6. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? We are expanding our team for all the exciting things we're working on for this fall, so if you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this page for details.
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 For today's "In the Studio" Interview, I'm delighted to present an interview with Certified ARTbundance™ Coach Nakia Dawkins, aka “Namaste”.
Nakia's life and work are filled with momentum and action, yet firmly grounded and centered in her spiritual beliefs and practice. Enjoy getting to know Nakia!
Artella: ARTbundance™ Coaching is based on nine ARTbundance™ Principles. Do you have a favorite Principle, or one that you really enjoy activating in other people? Which one, and why?
Nakia: One of my favorite Principles right now is Action. An object in motion tends to stay in motion, I believe that as we make movements - not matter how small - towards our goals and desires - those actions create an energetic snowball effect. If someone becomes "infected" with Action, it will replicate itself and begin to affect all operating systems in that person’s life.
Artella: How has your ARTbundance™ training affected your work and/or life?
Nakia: Because of the ARTbundance™ Training I now have a wellspring of blended exercises to draw from. This is important to my particular practice because many get the benefit of something outside of the box to help them internalize the ideas and insights given during our sessions. I'm a big believer in the "full immersion" process of learning. While coaching, helping clients to use as many senses as possible as they work through their process makes it that much easier to tap into what is needed.
You can read the rest of Nakia's interview, here
We have now closed the application process for the Fall 2010 ARTbundance™ Certification Program. If you are interested in receiving notification when the next ACT session is scheduled, simply fill out the form on this page.
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This ARTsignment™ from the ARTbundance Certification Training curriculum is called "Start Art", and it's all about adding art to the process of both planning a project, and actually taking those all-important itty bitty steps of action to make it happen. The addition of art makes the entire process not only more fun, but also much more motivating.
Here is how to create your own "Start Art":
1: Begin a collage or art journal spread that captures the feelings behind your particular project or goal.
2: Each time you complete a little step toward your goal, make one more small addition to your artwork (for example, add a small embellishment to the page, or a new image to the collage)
3: Continue to further embellish and decorate the piece as you continue to carry out the small steps toward your goal. As your collage becomes more full, energetic, and beautiful, you can see that your progress toward your goal is simultaneously progressing!
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This Quotz Crystal is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. Print it out and hang it up to remind you of the power of passionate planning...
~Loving how's 2011 already looks,
 Marney
Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer
Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit
Artella 9090 Skillman #182A-116 Dallas TX 75243
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