Welcome to 2008! It's that time when we reassess our life and decide to make new resolutions for the new year - or decide whether or not we want to make the same old, same old - resolutions for the new year. How did you do last year with your resolutions for 2007? In my continuing quest to get organized, my new year's resolution once again is to try and get organized.

There was a point in time where I realized that being an organized person is much more than getting into good habits - I believe it also ties in with how your brain is wired. Take, for example, people with O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which some people I know personally have. They are 'neat freaks'. They are, compulsive. For example, one of them has repeatedly painted their garage floor and actually made that room into a room that looks as good as some living rooms I have been in. They constantly feel the need to clean up, straighten up, tidy up. They even get angst (anxiety) when everything in the house is not 'picture perfect'. My former father-in-law, God rest his soul, also had this OCD. One day, many years ago, he came to my house for a visit, and, while having a cup of coffee at my dining room table, he kept staring at a picture on the wall. He finally felt the compulsion to get up, walk over to it, and ever so gently straighten it out as he perceived it to be 'crooked'. He then breathed a sigh of relief, for his anxiety had just abated in one little twitch of the finger. So, my point is - these certain individuals were born this way - they are 'wired' to like everything neat - and in its' proper place.

Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad thing. I actually wish I could be more like that. Of course, if it starts interfering with your life, and not in a good way, then you have to step back and look at your actions objectively. Say, for example, if you could not eat your lunch, or your dinner because, i.e., there was a wash that needed to be done, or a bill that needed to be paid, or the living room rug looked like it could use a fast pass over with the vacuum - well, then, O.C.D. is taking over your life, and that is not a good thing either.

You've heard the term 'everything in moderation'. That, I think, pretty much applies to anything in life - eating, spending, cleaning - whatever the particular subject might be. So, while it would be great to be organized and on top of things at all times - conversely, being anal about it would start causing problems in your life. Some people reading this will be able to identify with this article particularly if this sounds eerily like their own partner or close relative who cannot relax unless they are hanging from the upstairs window ledge washing a spot they saw on the window.

I could certainly use a sprinkling of the 'OCD fairy dust', believe me. I need a rude awakening to get my act together. I am so tired of papers, papers and more papers everywhere; among them, receipts, bills, general filing to be put away. I knew a woman who used to wash every can that came into the house - wiped it - then placed it in her pantry alphabetically, with labels facing forward. Whew, I'm exhausted just talking about it - that would be a full time job for me! Sounds like what Julia Roberts experienced in the movie, 'Sleeping with the Enemy'. I'm betting her husband in that movie had O.C.D.

So, now that I've elaborated on what my resolution must be for the new year - it's a whole other story actually achieving this seemingly insurmountable assignment I keep giving myself, year after year. Somewhere during the year, all hell breaks loose with my paperwork and all good intentions fall by the wayside.

What is your new year's resolution? Did you make one? Have you thrown in the proverbial towel on even trying to make one? Drop me a line - let me know your thoughts on this subject - or what you would like to see me tackle in my next article.

I'm wishing all of my viewers the best Year ever! May 2008 be your banner year bringing with it Good Health, Joy, Prosperity - and let's not forget Peace of Mind. We could all use some of that!

Happy 2008!