NOTE: This post was originally published on December 11 by my good friends at MeetPlanGo!  

It’s that time of year again. The holidays get us all plumped up with feasts and fetes. Then we stumble into a new year. For most folks with any sense of tradition, that’s a time of resolution, reflection, and reduction (of pounds and debt dollars). This year, why not resolve to get one step closer to a big, fat, career break?

While we’re at it, let’s be more specific—and twisted. That is, let’s twist the usual NYE advice to make it more fitting, fun, and hopeful. If your life feels boxed-in or you want to live outside the cube, take note. And take heart.

• SAVE LESS. Sure, everyone’s always preaching about saving for an education, house, rainy day, or retirement. But retirement is such distant ship-smoke on the horizon, right? Presently, 35% of people over 65 work. And both those numbers will keep growing as the cost of living ratchets up. What to do? Retire now and then. The best reward for saving money for your senior years: Instant grat. So you hereby have permission to sneak some straw from your nest egg (assuming you have built one first) to practice retiring. Go away, far away, for a month or 12. Then come back and work (and invest) some more. Repeat every 5-7 years.
• SPEND MORE. Time is money, right? Well, yes and no. We sell our time (and sometimes soul) to the boss who pays us with money, true. But if we could value time, we’d dub it priceless. So how about spending less hours on work (and related shtuff), and more time on what makes you tick—like yoga, cooking, hiking, and (naturally) planning your vacations and sabbatical.
• LOSE THE WAIT. Are you putting something off? Do your travel or even simple getaway goals keep getting sidelined? Resolve here and now to pop that procrastination bubble and do something—anything!—that brings you closer to your desire to experience the world and its cultures, cuisines, and quirks. Visit oddball museums. Dine in a different ethnic eatery each month. Sneak in over-nighters to funky small towns and stately state parks. Use long weekends and vacation time to get outa town and escape your routine. Whatever you do, find ways to make some here-and-now BreakAway moves—until you can make a break for The Big One.

HNY!

2015 is right around the corner. May it be a year of turning the corner on making your dream a reality. And meantime, may the holiday spirit (the kind and generous one—not the greedy and grinchy one) be with you!