What's better than optimism? Having your optimistic hopes and beliefs turn into reality. This will be an excellent year for your career, as everything you've been working on will finally reach the big payoff, and you'll receive the recognition you deserve for all your efforts. There's nothing like the power of positive thinking (and traditional good, hard work) to help bring about great results! You've also got a great opportunity on your hands to improve your love life. You're so generous and big-hearted that it will be hard for anyone to not fall for you, and that confidence of yours is equally sexy.In addition, you might want to take a look around at your life and try to determine if it's as absolutely great as it could be, or if there may be some things to improve. The timing couldn't be better for bringing about change than when you're in an idealistic frame of mind -- it makes letting go of the old or the negative so much easier. This is true for any aspect of your life. Meanwhile, if you're in the mood to expand your world, consider traveling. A far off place will add culture and knowledge -- as well as a bit of excitement -- to your own life. Your personal growth will inspire others.

Authors are frequently asked just how it is they came up with the idea for their story, and more often than not, their response is that it just came to them; they have no clue how. You'll suddenly understand exactly what they mean. Each month you'll have brilliant ideas 'pop' into your head, apparently out of nowhere. Your task will be to take these flashes of inspiration and turn them into a fabulous reality.Some of these thoughts of yours may seem a bit out of this world. Follow through with them anyway. For the most part, you'll be able to keep your radical ideas from getting too whacky or hard to swallow, and what you'll present to society will simply be some incredibly progressive thinking. Through this all, you'll want to maintain your excellent sense of humor. Your out-of-the-box mentality will allow you to see the mirth in even the most mundane events. Host some parties yourself to add a little more life to your activities, and find out what brilliant thoughts others are working on. Let your guests bring whomever they'd like, and see how many new and unique people you can add to your list of friends and acquaintances.

You've got a job to do, and you're determined to not only get it done, but to do it well. Your sense of responsibility will be strong, straight through to your next birthday, and you may be shocked by just how much you can achieve -- and so will your boss! This will be a very bright year for your career, as you'll be wowing everyone around with your incredible work ethic and abilities. It'll be hard for you to take a day off because you'll only be thinking about everything you have to do; you'd rather just keep getting stuff finished than take a break. You'll be almost as committed to any relationship as you are to your job. If you're already with someone, you'll be ready to renew your dedication to them, especially if it's slipped up in the past. If you're still looking for that perfect someone, you'll be ready to give yourself, heart and soul, to the relationship.Take advantage of this time to create some long term plans, complete with a step-by-step list to accomplish them. You can't go wrong. Just be sure to conserve your resources so you can keep going at this pace throughout the whole year.

On the surface, you project a certain image. The 'you' most people see is likely to be a somewhat contrived version of who you truly are. It's very possible that this has been going on so long, even you don't really know what's underneath. To achieve true success and satisfaction with life, though, you need to break through these barriers, and find the real you.However, this year won't involve just simple self-discovery. You'll need to make a total transformation. You're going to have to dig deep into yourself and come to terms with your most negative traits and your most subconscious desires. And that's no easy task. It's going to be hard for you to relate well to others as you go through this process, and you'll find it's easy to slip into a fearful and anxious state when you've allowed your inner being to become so exposed.The best thing you can do is just accept everything as it is. Realize that you can't control others, only yourself. Avoid the 'what if' games. Worrying about the worst that could happen won't get you anywhere. Stay focused, stay on track, and remember that things somehow end up working out for the best eventually.

For the next 12 months, your thoughts will be organized and methodical, and your rational mind will be oriented toward analysis, detail and criticism. If there was ever a time to get things taken care of, particularly the little things, this is it. You will be able to deconstruct anything to figure out exactly what is wrong with it. You might not be quite as good at putting things back together when you're finished. That could make you rather critical of yourself. You'll need to strike a balance between contemplating how things could be better and only seeing the negative.Your mind will be especially keen, able to see not just the trees, but all the leaves and needles on the trees. Just be sure that you don't let that turn into narrow-mindedness. Others will likely be attempting to view the whole forest, and their perspective is just as valuable as yours. You will be capable of processing complex information and presenting it to others in such a way as to help them in their lives. Because your mind is so active, you'll get bored easily if you aren't keeping yourself busy with more intellectual pursuits. Allowing your mind to stay in constant motion will also be good for that self-esteem of yours, which will be more fragile during these months.

There's an entire world out there for you to explore. For the next year, you'll find that this world exists entirely within. You've heard the expression about looking no further than your backyard -- well, this year, you don't have to look any further than your own soul. This will be a time of self-discovery, and not the usual what-do-I-want-to-do-with-my-life kind, but rather the who-am-I-really-and-what-is-my-place-in-this-universe type.You've got a lot of thinking ahead of you. Try putting some of your thoughts down on paper to help clear your mind. Those areas that are most important to you, such as politics, religion and your own psyche, will look especially good on paper -- seeing the written word can help shine a new light on your thoughts, as well as make your point stronger for others. Consider spending more time alone, dwelling on the deepest recesses of your heart. You'll only get to know yourself in entirety when you're able to spend quality time with your thoughts. Step away from distractions such as TVs, computers and even loved ones, and bring the focus directly onto yourself.

There's so much going on in this world that your mind must be able to filter things out in order to function properly. However, as this particular year progresses, you'll start to be aware of all the little things that don't usually hit your radar, and you could start to feel overwhelmed and confused. Your subconscious will have greater difficulty differentiating between what's relevant and what isn't, and therefore, you could end up registering everything and not know what to do with all that information. And that all leads up to one confusing year!As all of this builds up inside of you, you'll have a tendency to project your faults and troubling emotions onto others. If that's not enough, you'll also still have very high expectations for them. So you'll be even more disappointed when they can't meet those expectations. Try to remember that your frustrations are manifestations of your own troubled outlook -- they really have nothing to do with the people you care for. If you can get past these problem areas, you'll discover that your hypersensitivity can create great potential for truly understanding the thinking processes of others. Once you've accomplished that, everything else will finally start to fall into place.

Yes, there are times when you should go over everything with a fine-toothed comb to be sure you don't miss any details. Being in love is not one of those times. Nonetheless, you'll be inclined to focus on the details of all your romantic encounters this year, which could make them something of a challenge. In fact, romance is likely to take some extra time for you. You won't be prepared to share your heart and emotions immediately -- or even after a little while. Rather than expecting romance to work right away, you'll want to take some time to get to know yourself first. Until you understand who you are and how you connect to others, you won't be able to overcome the details of love that bog you down. Your highly-strung, and possibly uptight, approach to love could actually turn people off if you can't learn to loosen up. Study your relationships to try to determine which areas that have had you caught up are actually irrelevant. Then, take a step back and see the big picture. And stay there. The big picture, specifically how you feel when you're with someone, is more important than the smaller things. If someone chewing their nails is driving you that batty, then you need to go back to evaluating yourself some more.

This could be one of your best years for love. You'll have the perfect blend of masculine and feminine energy, and therefore, the perfect blend of passion and romance. You'll be well adjusted sexually, but you'll also relate to your partner on an emotional level. If you're not involved with someone right now, you'll find you have a magnetic influence about you that will make it quite easy for you to meet someone new. All you have to do is get out on occasion and be social. It's just an all-around great time for romance!That's not to say that everything will be peaches and cream every moment of the year. You may have some anger issues you'll need to deal with. Impulsive buying could put a damper on your savings. You could find yourself falling into a defensive mode at the drop of a hat, especially about a relationship you're in. You'll also want to make sure that whoever attracts your attention is someone with depth -- looks will be important to you, but you can't base a relationship on looks alone. Find someone you connect with on a deeper level. They're out there, and if you haven't found them already, this is your year to do so.

Relationships are nothing to take lightly, and you'll discover that the hard way this year. You'll have a strong craving for a deep and fulfilling commitment, but that will be one of the hardest things for you to come by. You've got your list, you know what you want, and you are not willing to settle for anything less. Unfortunately, no one's jumping through your hoops. You're stuck between a rock (your list) and a hard place (loneliness). And if you do hook up with someone, it turns out to be a lot more work than you thought. It's frustrating. Your relationships with everyone will be something of a struggle this year, but nowhere will this be more evident than in the area of romance. You'll want to spend some time focusing on understanding yourself before you become duty-bound to a significant other.Keeping up a positive self-image could become a challenge, and if your attempts to do so fail, you may find yourself falling into a bit of a depression. This will be one of those interesting circles in which you'll feel better if you let your creative side through, but you won't feel creative until you can make yourself feel better. Try to surround yourself with positive people, and participate in activities that have cheered you up in the past. Once you start to feel good about who you are, find some creative activity such as writing or painting that will allow you to open yourself up to your emotions. Only then will you begin to truly establish yourself and be ready to delve into the world of romance.

At some point you're going to have to make a decision: Do you want a relationship, or do you want your freedom? If you're in a relationship now, or if you start one within the year, you'll be torn between trying to create real intimacy and escaping to independence. If you really want love to prevail, you'll have to resist the urge to jump ship as soon as things get even a little complicated. It may be tempting to detach yourself emotionally, but you won't get anywhere romantically if you can't connect with your partner.All other aspects of your life will be a bit rocky as well, though not necessarily in a bad way. Your values will be up in the air, and you'll question everything you do, wondering if you've gone to far -- or if maybe you can push that envelope just a touch further. You'll face more commitment issues at work as you consider just how worthwhile that job really is. Financially, you may start to run into some trouble if you can't control your impulse buying, but then again, a spontaneous purchase on occasion can feel pretty good. Ultimately, you're going to have to allow yourself to be who you are. Your choices may seem more unusual than normal, but go with it, and just see what happens.

The epitome of practicality. That's you. Or, at least, that will be you as you work your way from this birthday until your next. Every project your put your mind to will be done in the most efficient manner possible, and you'll meet every deadline. You'll be able to work with both abstract and tangible ideas and projects, which can be a rare ability. No task will be too small for your complete attention -- in fact, the detail-oriented work is where you'll excel. Romantically, you'll find that you become much more sensual than passionate as the year progresses. Your body will be quite sensitive and easily thrown in and out of balance by your mental state. If you start to get confused by your physical reactions to whatever life throws your way, then channel your energy toward doing good work for others. Selfless acts will help you feel good mentally, which will, in turn, balance out your physical drives. You will have great stamina and determination when it comes to improving both your own circumstances and those of others. Again, the detail-oriented tasks will fit the bill well here, as anything that can keep your mind captivated will free up some of the stress that's placed on your body.

The stars are about to place you in the middle of your very own conundrum -- you'll have the drive to get what you want, but external (or internal) barriers could make that nearly impossible. Nearly impossible, but not completely. There's a lesson to be learned this year, and that's how to channel your aggressive energy into a productive, tangible result. This will be especially true in relationships, but all aspects of your life will suffer until you can tame your aggression and pay attention to all the details.Your instinct will be to rush into everything you put your mind to. But that will be a guaranteed failure almost every time. You must learn to slow down! Think everything through carefully, and then proceed slowly and with caution and discipline. Any relationship you're in, will be made more difficult by your hot and cold approach. If you want love to work, you're going to have to take some time to understand your needs and feelings, and then do the same for your partner. Your career will be a bit easier, but you're still going to have to deal with your desire to just get things done when what you really need to do is go over everything with a fine-toothed comb to make sure you didn't miss one thing.

Balance is a key part of life, and that's exactly what you'll be struggling with as you work your way through the year. One side of you is burning to get on with life, to get out there and forge ahead in new directions. Meanwhile, the other side realizes the value of learning and adequate mental development. How do you reconcile these two forces? Well, you do it with the patience that you don't quite seem to have enough of.You must figure out how to temper your passion and energy so you can learn greater respect and find a better use for your mental capacities. Your mind will be quite quick and effective, but you may let opportunities pass because you consider them to boring or studious. Most importantly, you'll need to make sure you don't put yourself in danger over your beliefs. Faith in your beliefs is strong, but this does not mean that you need to go to the street corner and start preaching. Instead, you should practice tolerance and realize that being self-righteous does not make you right. If you find you absolutely must defend yourself, then don't ever forget that the pen truly is mightier than the sword -- stand up for yourself.Meanwhile, your spurts of physical energy give way, sooner or later, to periods of exhaustion. When you're feeling up, you can't say no to new projects. By the end of the day, you've taken on way more than you can chew. Pacing yourself, and practicing the phrase 'I'll get back to you on that,' will help you find the fulcrum of the energy see saw you're riding this year.

Do you remember Princess Leia's comments in the original Star Wars about 'The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers'? Well, you may not be dealing with star systems, but the lesson there will become brutally obvious to you this year: The more you try to control something, the less control you'll have. Nonetheless, you will be relentless when it comes to attempting to achieve absolute control. That will be your goal, and you will go to any dark and dangerous means necessary to try to satisfy your lust for power. Using devious measures and manipulation to get your way may seem like a good idea at the time, but this will ultimately lead you into trouble from which you'll have a hard time escaping. Don't think for a moment that control in a romantic relationship is anything to strive for. You'll easily confuse anger with passion, and the result could be that you end up alone. In fact, going it alone may be your best solution this year. There are some deep and dark roads to self-discovery you need to head down, and the fewer people you take with you, the better of you'll all be in the end.

The mundane will drive you out of your mind, and anyone who moves too slowly could create a burning rage within you. Patience will be more than just a virtue for you this year; achieving a mere semblance of patience will be akin to climbing Mount Everest. To get through this year with as little strife as possible, you will have to seek out the unusual -- don't waste your time with anything that appeals to the bourgeois. You'll be so opposed to anything supported by the masses that you could get marked as a danger to their well being. Try to maintain your individuality this year, but without ruffling any feathers. If you feel like the world is out to get you, you may just be right. The general population rarely understands anyone who wants to move against the grain, and they'll be tempted to attack what they don't understand. This doesn't mean that you'll be at risk of a physical attack, but it does mean that your associations will be much more difficult than usual. You'll want to fly into a rage frequently as you face opposition on all fronts, but that will only make matters worse. Defend yourself and your beliefs, but aggression and brute force really won't get you anywhere. Challenge your intellect and come up with thoughtful, rational responses to difficult situations and interactions.

Seeing your big ideas turn into reality will be no problem for you. You will have an incredibly fresh and innovative way of viewing the world, which will help motivate you to kickoff new projects this year. As you embark on whatever new path you choose, you'll intuitively know how to push your old methods aside to make room for the new ideas and people that will be coming your way.Breakthroughs will be a major theme in your life for the next 12 months. Your enthusiasm and eagerness will help you get started on projects, and the growth and understanding you develop as you move through the year will allow you to see these projects through to the end. In fact, individual growth will be one of those breakthroughs you'll experience, and once you get past any ego hang-ups that may be slowing you down, you'll be on a direct path to knowing exactly what and when things need to get done, as well as knowing how to do them. Are there any negative sides to this? Well, realizing that you're right so often might make you a tad arrogant, so you'll want to watch out for that, but on the whole, this will be your time to make something great happen with your life.

For hundreds of years, people believed the world was flat. And then, in what was comparatively a blink of the eye, they were forced to change their views and accept that the earth was round. Don't be surprised if your beliefs go through a similarly drastic about-face, this year. You'll need to remain completely open-minded when it comes to the values of others because you never know when you might be completely stunned to discover that they could actually be right. This doesn't mean that you'll have to disregard the beliefs and faith you've worked so hard to develop over the years, but it does mean that there may be more to life than just what you understand at the beginning of the year. Travel as much as possible to open yourself up to new ways of thinking, and then share what you've learned. Talk with people you come across, and maybe even think of becoming a teacher. This will be one of those times where you may not even realize change is happening until much later. Just remember that, regardless of what you think or feel about the events and values around you, it's important to remain open to them -- they may just change your life!

One of the most amazing aspects of science fiction is that a certain portion of it somehow ends up being true years and years later. That's how your mind will be working in the coming months -- it'll just be so far out there that your ideas will seem like fiction, but wait a few years and suddenly everyone will realize just how right you were. Your mind will be working in hyperdrive, and it might be a good idea for you to write everything down so everyone else will have an easier time catching up later.Spend as much of your time traveling as possible, as new locations and cultures will enhance your imagination and bring even crazier ideas to the forefront. Living for the present may be difficult this year, so go ahead and let your mind wander into uncharted territory. Take advantage of your incredible technical savvy at work and wow your superiors with your brilliant solutions to age-old problems. Meanwhile, if you're looking for love, try to find someone who can share your vision of the future. Or, if you're already part of a happy couple, you should talk everything through with your partner so they'll understand what's going on in that head of yours.

You're coming up to a fork in the road: Should you take the road toward expansion and optimism, or the path that leads to responsibility and achieving goals through hard work? Unfortunately, it's not really a decision that you'll be able to make. During the next 12 months, this dilemma will pop up over and over again, mostly resulting in confusion. Your options will be completely polarized and finding a middle ground could start to feel impossible.You'll find yourself torn between grand life schemes and the details and effort that will be involved in bringing them to life. It would be nice to just be an idea-person, but your ideas can't turn into reality without a lot of hard work. You're going to have to try to find a balance between these opposing forces. And then you'll also be faced with deciding when to fix past mistakes and when to forge ahead with your future. This will require great mental strain and possibly even physical effort, but if you succeed, you could be on the track to great prosperity. This probably won't happen immediately, but rather, by the end of the year, you could be much wiser and on the path to personal, professional and romantic prosperity.

Struggling to work effectively with people in power will start to feel second nature to you. You'll have a strong drive to succeed and to reach high levels of power yourself, but it will begin to feel like others are purposely trying to hold you back. That may or may not be true, but what your true focus should be on is your own personal growth. If someone blocks one path, then you must decide whether to defend yourself or find another path. You may be tempted to choose the former, but look carefully at the situation before making a decision. Either this person is really out to get you, or they're stopping you for a reason, and in either case, you may want to step aside and let them have their way.That could be the hardest lesson for you to learn this year. Your own desire for power and your tendency to overreact will make it extremely difficult for you to just step back from your plans because someone else said so. Avoid becoming too obsessed about a particular plan or goal, and try to remain open to change. Your challenge will be to find a common source between your goals and those of others. When you've achieved that, you'll know you've accomplished what the stars had in mind for you this year, and that could result in some unplanned successes.

Indecision is waking up, shaking itself off and getting ready to rear its ugly head. You might want to prepare yourself for a lot of unpleasant decisions in the coming months. That doesn't mean that you'll have to choose between a rock and a hard place, but choosing between something like two people with whom you're in love is never a fun choice to make either. As you struggle to deal with whatever options are placed in front of you, you may begin to suffer from feelings of self-doubt.The first step toward fixing these issues will be to accept that they exist. If you're in denial about any of your fears -- and those include fears of compromising yourself or losing your balance in life, as well as indecision -- your world will only become more complex. On the other hand, if you can face your fears and come to terms with them, you'll have a much healthier approach to the decisions you have to make, which will help make your future choices much easier to deal with. Taking on a responsible perspective with your options will also allow a natural balance to come back to your life, almost without any extra effort from you.

Ugh! You know exactly what it is you have to do to get ahead, and yet it seems like everyone and everything around you is trying to slow you down, stop you or even push you backwards. From your disgruntled boss who doesn't want to promote you to getting stuck in terrible traffic on your way to an interview, you'll begin to feel as though the universe is in a conspiracy to hold you back -- even worse; you'll be right. The planets have aligned themselves in such a way that these next 12 months will be about learning to deal with severe adversity.Resisting these forces could become your only goal this year, but if you find that happening, you might want to rethink what you're doing. This is a time for you to learn. These dilemmas and challenges will pop up for a reason and you need to pay attention to them and see how you can work with them. What might they be telling you? Are you trying to head in the wrong direction? Are your expectations too high? Should you try to make an even more dramatic transformation in your life? The obstacles will inevitably be frustrating, but they could lead to changes that are necessary for you to progress with your life. So try to take everything with a grain of salt and a level of detachment.

The stars have thrown you a challenge for the coming year, but unless you can (or already have) developed tremendous inner strength, this will likely just result in a lot of stress and tension. You'll be encouraged to become your true, original and unique self, but while facing resistance from established ideals. If you succeed, you will likely break down the status quo, but if you don't, you'll struggle with feeling like you are being blocked and thwarted.Nonetheless, you must not give up. If you feel an urge to rebel against societal norms, then do so. If you want to push the envelope, then push it as far as you can. You may upset a lot of people, but you could get a lot more people to begin to question their own take on things. This may not be the greatest time for outside influences such as love, friends or finances because you'll likely drive nearly everyone around you up the wall with your weird perspectives. But keep going anyway. Don't let anyone slow you down. Your mind will work in progressive ways, which means you'll have to wait for others to come around to your way of thinking rather than expect them to understand you right away. It will take time, it will be difficult, but in the end, it will all be worth it.

A structured life is one that can progress forward at a pleasant and constant rate. In order to achieve this, you'll need to learn to ground yourself and build a reliable foundation, which you can use as your base. That could involve adding more to your savings account, working to establish a healthy, balanced relationship with your family or making yourself even more valuable at work. You may have displayed a certain level of dependence on others in the past, but this year you will work to become much more self-sufficient.To do this, you will need to set goals for yourself and become a stickler about following through with them. You must be disciplined and hardworking, and you'll want to prepare for both short-term and long-term plans. Take your time establishing your goals and then working towards them; none of this needs to be rushed. Instead, a slow and steady pace will help guarantee that you achieve your ambitions without accidentally throwing a stick in the wheel. As you reach a level of greater responsibility, you'll find that not only will you achieve your goals, but your position in society will improve as well.

Enlightenment and technology will come together for you this year, as you seek to achieve a higher state of human connection through the use of global technology and advancements. You will desire a spiritual unity of all people, and you will use such progressive tools as the Internet and computers to achieve your goal. This is the first time in recorded history that such an enormous human connection could even be considered, and you will be at the forefront, helping to make it all come together.Even more exciting is the possibility to experience such large-scale communities and interactions, while still maintaining your individual space. You will break down older New Age concepts and begin establishing entirely new ones in which the individual can connect and remain alone at the same time. If you haven't already, join some cyber-organizations and start chatting. You can also use the coming year to familiarize yourself with, or improve your skills at graphic design. That's a great channel for combining your creative imagination with the complexities of computer technology and ability. Just be sure all of your experiences are your own and that you don't get too influenced or disillusioned by some of the other people out there.

Your mission for the year will be a total overhaul of all the outmoded forms of society that can no longer measure up or function as they're supposed to. Sound like a big job? It is. But you can start by just focusing on the structure of your own life and trying to transform that before you even attempt to tackle societal issues. One of the key areas you might want to look at improving, though, will be your social status. The higher you can raise your social standing, the more freedom you'll have to make more necessary changes later on.In fact, if you can increase your social status, you'll actually be on the path to breaking up some of society's most useless structures, which involve placing power in a small minority. Your goal is to work your way into that minority and try to break it up from the inside. Again, this is by no means a small task, and you should only focus on your own life this year. Maybe a promotion at work can help you reset some of your corporate structures, giving you practice for a bigger job later on. If you want to jump right in to freeing society from the power of the social elites, then see what kind of luck you can have in your own town. Volunteer for an elected official or get your own name on the ballot for the next election.

All beings, all forms of life, everything that moves -- it all requires energy to keep going. Humans are special in that they can choose how they use this energy. This year, your goal, should you choose to accept it, will be to transform yourself and possibly the world with the pioneering and radical energy that will bubble up from within you. Creative and original currents of ideas will course through you, and it will be up to you to see them through to creation. Your mind will be active and engaged, and your inner urges will encourage you to move into action. Any challenge placed before you will be one you will happily meet, but remember that there's more to overcoming adversity than just meeting it: You must follow through, as well. Once you're able to overcome your difficulties, you'll find that your progressive nature is able to bloom on its own. Basically, this all boils down to figuring out the most effective uses for your mental powers. Fortunately, you'll be practically fearless about change and about your approach to life. When you know where to point your aggression and intelligence, a powerful, progressive transformation will begin.

The cycle of life says that something must die in order for more life to go on. This could be something traumatic like a mother dying in childbirth, but that's extremely rare compared to all the other little things that occur by the millions every day. A piece of rotten fruit in a field provides nutrients to animals passing by or the soil below it. A caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Even you getting rid of old clothes to make room for new ones falls under this category. Change and transformation are simply processes of life, and ones that we deal with every day.This year, however, you'll be more sensitive to the transformations that occur, and they'll become a part of who you are. It will likely be a very spiritual time for you, as you will begin to question all that goes on around you. Just what is the reason for our cyclical behavior? How can one concept apply to every aspect of life (e.g. for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction)? These questions and many others will plague you as you make a transition from simply accepting the world around you, to really seeing its complexities and wondering if a powerful being is in charge, or if everything just fell into place somehow, like a well-oiled machine.

Imagine a tea kettle. You've put the water in, and turned up the heat. Then you wait as the water begins to boil, and that's when it starts to get interesting. The pressure builds and builds until so much steam is being forced out of a tiny opening that it begins to whistle -- and then it screams. And if you leave it long enough, the lid might just pop off. Now, imagine that's your life. Some or most of your life is building up a lot of pressure and it's about to explode. Things could get really messy for a while, but the relief you'll feel when the pressure is off of you will be well worth it. You'll finally be able to move on to something else.If you want to make things a little easier, you can find aspects of your life that clearly need improvement and begin to make the changes yourself. That will help release some of the pressure early, so you won't deal with quite such a big eruption. Something you've depended on for a long time will suddenly disappear -- your car might die or your computer might crash completely -- and you'll need to simply accept that as fact and go out and get something better.