One of my favorite quotes is a line from the poem The Summer Day by Mary Oliver. The poem closes with this line:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I read this poem often. It serves as a type of prayer or mantra or inspiration. And I especially call on the lines this time of year as the old year passes and the new one begins. In the coming days, I will take stock of what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve stepped in to during 2012. I don’t make “resolutions” per se, but I will think about 2013 and what it is I want to do, what I want to create. I think about what I plan to do with my one wild and precious life in the next 365 days.

To aid in my creation, I sit and journal and ask myself some questions. The key is not to censor myself, not to say “Oh Amy that is so stupid. That will never happen. How will you meet Mary Oliver in 2013?” The point is not to write what I know is likely to happen. The point is to dwell in possibility (thank you Emily Dickinson) and imagine my best case scenario. Because the first step to getting what you want is to ask for it.