A friend of mine once told me about a quotation made by the author, Stephen King, in his book, On Writing, in which he states “…to write is human, to edit is divine.” I found this quotation most fascinating and quite honestly, I was more than a little surprised to think that anyone would consider editing as being divine. After thinking about this quotation for some time, I realized that there are many who write—they put their thoughts on paper, communicate with others and some writers may not be concerned with how to spell, punctuate or to use grammar properly. They can be more interested in getting their thoughts communicated—to be creative in whatever they are writing—to cause the reader to visualize a scene or story in their mind’s eye. However, editors can focus too entirely on the rules and can end up sanitizing writing to the point where the writer’s voice may disappear. Perhaps this is what Stephen King meant when he said “…to edit is divine.” As the editor-in-chief for the American Biographical Institute, I make every effort to keep the writer’s voice intact and to make minimal changes to an entry or text while adhering to the rules of grammar.

Recently, while watching a reality show on television about fashion design, I heard the designers’ mentor say to them regarding the designs they were creating “…remember designers, edit, edit, edit.” I thought this was a fascinating way to tell them that their designs should be looked at many times and possibly edited or revised to make them more precise and more accurate for the project. I had never thought of editing being applicable to the world of fashion design but there it was mentioned over and over again by a very popular designer/mentor. This proved to me that editing not only applies to the written word but can also apply to other aspects of our lives. There is a need to review and edit whatever we are undertaking to make sure it is accurate or more precise, while still allowing for creativity to shine through.

At A.B.I., I oversee the creation of a person’s biography for inclusion in our directories. It is important to provide each person with a biography that reflects the important aspects of their lives and their achievements. I take my editing role quite seriously and make every effort to incorporate not only proper grammar, spelling and punctuation, but also creativity and an accurate reflection of the author’s life.

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”

Have you decided what your new beginnings are to be made of in 2010? For me, I find it difficult to hone in on just one aspect of my life that I wish to improve. There is so much to focus on in just 365 days! I want my resolutions to be purpose-driven, realistic, yet challenging. So, as the New Year is upon us, I am pledging to fine-tune several parts of my life. In fact, I have already started! Here are a few pointers to keep us committed to our resolutions.

Commit your goals to paper, say them aloud, and then actually do them. “I wish” and “I hope” are not at all synonymous with “I am.” There is a huge difference between saying that you will do something and actually doing it. The first step to actually achieving your goals is to make the commitment itself a reality. If you keep your goal to yourself, locked away in your own mind, it is easy to forget and postpone. It also inhibits you from gaining outside support, a vital key to bolstering your efforts when you lose your willpower and get discouraged. For example, if I secretly pledge to lose that dreaded five (hopefully not ten) pounds gained from holiday gluttony, how will my husband know not to keep temptations like sugar cookie cut-outs around me? If we are both aware of my goal, then he can help keep me on-track and be my shoulder to lean on when I need him.

Another great example of this is my actual, current resolution that I am actively fulfilling in 2010. Last year I found myself repeatedly saying, “I hope to one day go back for my master’s degree.” My wishing, hoping, and postponing, I soon realized, was a lot of hot air getting me nowhere. Then, I actually committed by gathering and completing admissions materials, taking the dreaded GREs, and enrolling! So now in 2010 (starting January 12, to be exact) I will find myself back in academia—maintaining my position at Ivy House by day and pursuing my master’s degree at North Carolina State University by night. It is a life-changing, challenging commitment that much planning has gone into. Without my actual commitment and without my husband’s support, I could still be my old 2008 and 2009 self, but I am not!

Remind yourself of the benefits of the better you. Understand the motivation behind your resolution and know why you are about to embark on the journey to where you want to be. Keep these benefits in focus at all times, especially if you are tempted to go off-course. I have a friend that aspired to confidently fit into a bikini by beach season. To keep her focused, she put a photo of her dream bikini on her pantry door. Anytime that she wanted to sneak some sweets, the cute, little bikini would scold her.

Reward yourself for meeting benchmarks. Rewarding yourself for each milestone met will help keep you motivated through your journey to the better you. This is not to say that you should light up to reward yourself for not smoking for a month, or that you should eat a cupcake to celebrate weight loss. Find ways to pat yourself on your back without compromising your goals. When I handed in the last of my admissions materials, for example, my husband and I celebrated by going out on the town for a fun-filled date night. It feels great to be cheered on!

Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many goals and keep your goals realistic. As I said, there is much that I want to focus on in 2010! I would love to start the master’s program while simultaneously reading more books for pleasure, decluttering my guest room (quite the feat!), volunteering more often, journaling and blogging a page per day, becoming more active, and being an all-over Superwoman. However, I have to remind myself that I can’t spread myself too thin. Focusing on too many goals will just make anyone frustrated, miserable, and stressed out. When your goals aren’t manageable, it’s likely that they’ll be stuffed in the “I wish” pile like last year. Think about maintaining the quality of your life, while also maintaining your goals, and creating an environment conducive to success. If you absolutely loathe jogging and your goal is to be more fit, find an alternative, realistic route to get there. Perhaps yoga or kickboxing would be more appealing.

Hopefully these tips will keep us on track in 2010. I’d love to hear back from you about your New Year’s resolutions, including updates on your progess. In the meantime, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and good luck!