Starting the year off right

This is a fantastic time of year, things are new, full of hope, promise, enthusiasm and ambition.  Every new year kicks off with a flurry of activity with the best of intentions to make changes, be more effective, purposeful and successful, personally and professionally.  However, it doesn't last - and just like every diet I ever started on a Monday, in a few weeks, we are back to doing what we did in the past and our old habits are back in control.

Why does this happen?  
My theory is that the majority of us want to make these changes but we encounter two powerful forces that keep this from happening.  The first is a little something I like to call, reality.  Yep - the reality of our day to day responsibilities get in the way of change.  In an on going effort to get things done, the struggle with our existing responsibilities overcomes our enthusiasm, we lose focus on the changes and we return to the status quo.


The second force that sabotages change is something we do to ourselves and directly impacts our success in dealing with the reality of our day to day responsibilities - and that is we attempt too many changes at once.  At a recent holiday party, I over heard someone say they were going to start a diet, hit the gym, be better organized, use more social medial tools, get more sleep, be more involved with their kids, spend more time on their favorite hobby, be more effective with their time - all starting on Monday, January 3rd!!  Unless you're a superhero, these lofty goals will never materialize.

Break the cycle!
How do we break this cycle of "resolution confusion" and achieve sustainable success with change in 2011?  First, we must pick the right date to start with, which is January 1, 2011.  I know, you're thinking that date has already passed us by.  This date is important not because it's the first day of the year, but because within this date is a built in reminder of simplicity, 1-1-11.  

Just about every program with TRAIN begins and ends on the same points, we start with the saying, "you don't get paid for what you know, you get paid for what you do" and we end with turning what was learned into activity by asking the team to name something they will start, stop and continue doing as a result of the program - and that is the connection to making change happen by using 1-1-11.

Instead of a long list of goals or resolutions, shrink the change and start with (1) one thing you want to change in your business, stop doing (1) one thing that prevents that change from happening and continue (1) one activity that supports the change.  Doing the math, you might notice I'm missing a (1) one, well that is left over to focus on your work life balance - what's (1) one activity I can do, along with this change, to keep my life in balance.  This is essential to keeping us happy, productive and from burning out.

Think about it, focusing on this simple equation for change can get us started on a dynamic year.  Start with this, track it, review it, begin every morning thinking about it and once the change in effect, apply the formula again to the next change.  You'll be amazed at the results.