ch-ch-ch-changes...

gung hay fat choy! (that's happy new year!) it is the year of the rat. more on that later. i found this article months ago, before i moved, and bookmarked it. i abridged and hacked it. check it.

10 Things to Know Before You Change Your Life
By Susan Crandell

Reinventing Your Life: Trust Yourself
1. Size doesn't matter.
I call this the rearview-mirror effect. You know that little sign that reads: "Objects may be closer than they appear"? Well, reinvention is bigger -- by magnitudes -- than it may appear. That's because what matters is not how momentous the change seems to the outside world, but how it feels to you.

2. Learn the power of letting go.
The dynamic move is precisely what makes so many of us shy away from changing our lives. We focus on the foothold we've got rather than the handhold up there waiting for us. We concentrate on the things we're going to have to give up, rather than imagining the satisfactions and pleasures that could lie ahead. Amazing things happen when we open ourselves up to an unknown future.

3. Drop the game face.
Once you let that game face slip and admit the fears and frustrations that are endemic to a life do-over, you will discover a miraculous thing: You are not alone. It's then you'll share both agonies and remedies.

4. Put your money where it counts.
Don't be shy about investing in your happiness. It's a legacy to make an ancestor proud. (Okay, so it turns the move left me with a much smaller balance on my bank statement, but I'm much happier.)

5. Don't worry what people think -- really!
Whose life is it, anyway?

6. Practice, practice, practice.
Do something a little hard, somewhat scary, and when you succeed you'll be better equipped to attempt the next intimidating thing. After all, you don't start kayaking in white water.
(Oops!)

7. God isn't in the details.
Most great ventures arise in uncertainty. The hallmark of an adventure is not knowing the outcome, trusting in the flow of events. Reaching for a goal without knowing your exact path, being open to the possibilities and buoyed by the belief that you have what it takes to get there.

i'll write more about the year of the rat and how its predictions might turn out for me this chinese zodiac year. after i go to the parade on sunday and take some pictures.