Taking Inventory

Happy New Year New Decade!

History/Civics/Politics buffs know that the year 2010 means the taking of the U.S. Decennial Census.

As mandated by the Constitution, the U.S. government makes its best effort to count every resident in the country as of April 1. As written in the Constitution (amended in the 14th Amendment, section two):

"The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 10 years, in such manner as they shall by Law direct."

-- Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States

The Census count determines everything from the number of Congressional seats allocated to each state to tax dollars spent for roads, schools and other infrastructure.

A lot of people forget that on January 1 each year, in between each decennial census, the federal government makes an estimate of how many people are living in the USA. On Friday, the Census Bureau projected the U.S. population to be 308,400,400. That's an increase of 2,606,181 from New Year's Day 2009.

According to the Census Bureau, "In January 2010, one birth is expected to occur every eight seconds in the United States and one death every 12 seconds.

"Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 37 seconds to the U.S. population, resulting in an increase in the total U.S. population of one person every 14 seconds."

Now, as interesting as it is (to me at least!) to look at the Census numbers, I think the process also provides an important comparison and companion practice to the usual New Year's tradition of making resolutions.

I'm all for resolutions and dreams. As a coach, I strongly support the act of committing to a plan of action; the intention of setting a goal and going for it.

However, I believe each act of intention requires a realistic assessment of the starting point. Taking inventory of where you are so that you can measure your progress.

A new year and a new decade is a great time to take personal census or inventory.

Who knows how far you'll go?