Happy Holidays All --

Has the honeymoon worn off yet? You know, that glow-y first two weeks of a fresh year when you vow "everything will be different." If you're cruising along with a new attitude and your goals are cookin', way to go! If you're already discouraged or derailed, you know where to find me.

At the very least, take a look at my Game Plan life coaching columns on FOX Business and get some sound advice for putting a solid foundation in place. This year's columns have covered creative ideas for goal setting, assessing the present, and creating a vision for the near future.

You can do this.

Well, let's just say it. I started the brand spankin' New Year with a stomach virus. A nasty version that pretty much wrestled me to the ground. I don't even like typing the word 'sickness' let alone actually dealing with it. I was whiny and begging for mercy.

And then I remembered how I used this space last month to espouse the benefits of gratitude and that it might be nice to practice what I preach, not just then, but now. Right now. There had to be something to appreciate in all this.

So once I turned a corner physically, I set about to examine what my imposed stillness was meant to show me. Hello! First and foremost, it was meant to impose stillness. Sounds crazy, right? The extreme of getting sick just to get a rest and some time for introspection. But truly, if I hadn't been stopped short in this way, I would have kept going on what I now call "The Busy Treadmill." Don't get me wrong. Busy can be good. But busy with no plan just keeps you looping in circles. And busy for the sake of busy is posing. "Never mistake motion for action," Ernest Hemingway said.

Second, it was meant to show me how soothing and right it feels to take time out for stillness every day. Our spiritual lives often go in cycles. Sometimes we are ultra-focused on nurturing our spirit, almost showering ourselves with spiritual knowledge and wisdom. And then once we absorb it we incorporate it into our lives in a philosophical way, which is good, but neglect to feed it regularly with an infusion of fresh insight or knowledge. I stand guilty as charged and as a result have incorporated daily readings of the Tao Te Ching into my day.

Third, not to be graphic about it, but a stomach virus comes with a fair amount of purging. Once I felt stronger, I started carrying over the purging concept to those things that needed a good, hard look -- finances, storage space, decor. Call me crazy, but there's something cleansing about spending a Sunday simultaneously watching football, basking in the aroma of chicken soup simmering on the stove, and shredding documents. Do I know how to party or what?

Seriously, though, this was not the dream way for a life coach to start a New Year. Or, ultimately, was it?

COOL THINGS MY FRIENDS ARE DOING:

Elena Skye's Demolition String Band not only has a great CD called Different Kinds of Love, check out this cool gig: A Monkees Night Reprise at Southpaw (125 5th Ave.) in Brooklyn on Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. To get a feel for what the band's about, take a look at this write-up on the ASCAP website.

As the proud owner of a Mary Ann Farley original work of art, it is hard not to gush when I send you to her online store with wares featuring her fabulously vibrant art. They make great gifts, too!

GIVE A GIRL A DREAM:

Last month I wrote about Mirna, my homeless client whose audition earned her a spot in the USA World Showcase in Las Vegas in May. It's a great opportunity to reach her goal of becoming a professional singer. If you'd like to help sponsor her, please make out your check or money order to USA World Showcase and send it to me at P.O. Box 832, Hoboken, NJ 07030. I would love to reach the $1,000 mark for her, as she is working hard to better her life. Many thanks to those of you who have already contributed to her cause.