I'm as guilty as any of the tendency to write off December as much of a high achievement month, instead focusing on my goals starting the new year.
But I'm trying something different this year. Right now, instead of making New Year's Resolutions, I'm making "This Year's Resolutions."
Since I'm from Denver, I am, of course, a Broncos football fan. Watching the game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday reminded me that even if you've had a lackluster performance and been behind until the last two minutes of the 4th quarter, you can still come back and win the game. You just need to be clear that the game's not over and play that way.
It's mid-December. We're all in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter but the game's not over yet.
I was reminded of this again recently in my business life. We had been working on a new real estate investing venture for several months seeking only to close a couple of deals. After a number of false starts, we didn't seem close to achieving our goal. I was already beginning to think, "Maybe next year. . . " Now, not one, but two deals are closing in the third week of December. It all came together over the past few weeks.
Instead of putting off the big challenges I have until after January 1, I'm taking action to tackle them now. And I'm doing this because, ironically, I'll have a less stressful Holiday season. If I go headlong into my goals now, I won't have "The Things I want to Accomplish in 2012" hanging over my head while I'm on "vacation."
I was reminded of this again recently in my business life. We had been working on a new real estate investing venture for several months seeking only to close a couple of deals. After a number of false starts, we didn't seem close to achieving our goal. I was already beginning to think, "Maybe next year. . . " Now, not one, but two deals are closing in the third week of December. It all came together over the past few weeks.
Instead of putting off the big challenges I have until after January 1, I'm taking action to tackle them now. And I'm doing this because, ironically, I'll have a less stressful Holiday season. If I go headlong into my goals now, I won't have "The Things I want to Accomplish in 2012" hanging over my head while I'm on "vacation."
I don't know about you, but I rarely enjoy vacations when I have major work goals hanging over my head. I may relax for a few days, but by the last one or two days I'm already back at the office, even if I'm on a beach. So, if I start knocking out my goals now, I can truly take time off from the office over the Holidays -- especially in my head. The only true time off we have is when we can be present in the moment.
So, what are your "This Year's Resolutions" for 2011?
