New Year is Here, Are You Ready?

 The New Year is here, are you ready?  Have you set at least one goal to accomplish regarding your genealogy?

 Goal setting is more important than resolutions.  It gives you purpose and direction. It helps to put you back on track when we fall off.  O we do a lot of that falling off.  At least I do.  When researching and another family name pops up within the confines of the search I am already doing it is hard to not, stop and gather in the data.  Then because you have found information your not expecting, then we are looking to see what we can add to that data, Right?

 So goal setting is critical.  Look at your genealogical program, find you thin spots, bolster up those thin spots because it will lead you to more information that is there your not seeing.  Add flesh to the bones, in another word.  The flesh may be personal or historical but it adds depth. 

 Do you ask about  pictures to other researchers?  Do you ask about potential jewelry handed down?  What about Grandad's belt buckle?  What about hand tools used in the 1800's and 1900's before the fancy stuff came out? 

 What about asking older family members to write down their version of a family story they may remember?  Ask your siblings for their version of your Christmas, Birthday's past? 

 What is lots of fun, is if you can ask your close neighbors of when you were a child their version of the time and events affecting your life.  Because you know they were involved, their prospective is very intriguing. They remember things we do not because event affected them differently.

 Goals do not need to be huge or massive, just a simple:" I am going to fill in the blanks on Great Grandfather's line down to  myself. "   Yes, we do not know when we will leave this earth and things our chldren do not remember or their version can be very different than ours.  

 Opening  my Grandad's Memory book was a wide open, mind blowing adventure.  Ironic, it does not have much of his writing in it but, it has: Report Cards, Church Attendance Cards, many death cards from neighbors, a few newspaper clippings and related articles.  Things I would not have known about. Yes, his Grandfather was a lay minister so suspect that why the Church Attendance Cards when he was young in Iowa. He had to write reports on topics at the Church events at ages 6 and 7.  

 So set a goal.  Also note the goal or goals you succeeded at this last year.  It is important to the mind, to learn you may have done more than you thought, especially when you did not find certain information that you were digging for.

 This was very obvious at out last meeting in Lemon Grove.  The comment was, " Oh, I forgot I learned that," instead of," I did not accomplish anything."   Even just getting in contact with other distant family members was a plus.

  To stay Positive we need to think Positive also.  Have a great New Year, goal setting, information finding and definitely sharing.