It is as important to feel a sense of accomplishment for a goal as it is to set it & Im in this really bad habit of once I get something done, all I can do is think about what is next. With New Years Resolutions right around the corner this may be some good advice: Take some time to reflect on your 2012. What goals did you complete? How did you improve? Grow? Most of this should should be focused on your successes, not so much your failures (I had several this year too).

I feel like when I list my accomplishments for the closing year, I can say to myself “You know what? This goal setting business is working.” It keeps me motivated and focused.

Another piece of advice I can give that I do each year, is not to pick many goals at once. PIck One Single Goal What do you want more than anything else? That should be the goal you should work towards day in and out until you get there. When you have accomplished it, find your next goal. Picking many goals will slow you down, and even discourage you because the more you have, the harder they each are to get. If you must pick several goals, at least pick them in a sequential order; first this..then that. It is what I do and it works well for me. It helps to be very specific and the goal should be something that can be measured. Something vague like “I want to be a better person” or “I want to be a better photographer” isn’t enough.

2012 Goals & Achievements:

1. 365 Club Started. While I only personally lasted 2 months, there were about 30 students who are finishing in the next week or so. I am much more happy and proud of them, than I would be if I made it through my second year. I have seen some pretty phenomenal growth from each of them photography wise, and most of them are now very advanced photographers. You will be hearing much more about them soon.

2. I lost 22 pounds that have stayed off. I definitely paid the price for it, but went from about 247 down to 218 at one point and am back up to a healthy to 223-25ish.

3. Got Back into Scuba Diving. I even bought all of my own dive equipment & scuba housing for underwater photography.
I also received the following certifications:
A. Advanced Scuba Diver (With 5 Separate Certifications)
B. Rescue Diver
C. Master Scuba Diver

4. Completed the following Crash Course Instructional Training Tutorial Videos:

A. Lighting Crash Course
B. Canon 5Diii Crash Course Training Tutorial Video
C. Canon Speedlite 600 Ex-RT Crash Course Video
D. Canon T4i Training Tutorial Video
E. Nikon D3200 Training Tutorial Video
F. Canon Mirrorless M Crash Course Training Tutorial Video
G. Nikon D600 Crash Course Training Tutorial Video
H. Nearly Finished the Canon 6D Crash Course (Should wrap in the next 1-2 weeks)
We also added many fun photography lessons on Youtube.

5. Had some really fun trips. My two favorite were going to Burma for my second time to photograph the Mokens & going to Las Vegas to meet my 365 friends. (Again, more to come on that).

6. Made a lot of good new friends both here on Maui as well as Photography Friends all over the world. I sure feel super blessed to have the opportunities I do and try very hard to not take a single day for granted.

There were some other goals I had that I did not complete and looking back I am ok with 2012. I had a great year and am looking forward to the next! Im pretty sure I know what my next goal is, but I’d like to think about it for a few days. Ill announce it here.

Happy New Year Everyone! Make 2013 the best you can!