Dontcha just LOVE January? |
Jan./Feb. 2017 |
I love January, but odds are you don’t. If you’re willing and want to learn to love January, then hang here for 4 short minutes - you may have a new view on the start to the year. Most importantly, you have to ignore the January smear campaign repeated by some in your circle hat sounds like this: “it’s too cold”, “it’s too dark”, “it’s too…waaah…”! (We know some of the same people.) The way to attack January is to do exactly that: attack.
Before you get details of my simple “3x3 Plan” that will help you attack January, I want you to make a proclamation that you’re a professional and not an amateur. Professionals are those who make every drop count, which includes starting strong in every new year. Pros are serious about time and that includes January. Amateurs? Well, they complain that it’s too cold, too windy, too this, too that. And they get nothing done in January. (Getting nothing done in January means wasting 8% of the year, and potentially, 8% of a life.) Go ahead, say it aloud: “I want to be a pro”. Or, "I want to be more of the pro I am". We want to chase easy goals in January because we want to "feel accomplished" early in the year. Having a great January – and being a pro – takes a commitment to the very simple 3x3 Plan. You’re going to be pleasantly surprised at how easy and “achievable” this plan is and how it will work for you:
1. Plan and book 3 really fun trips that you'll take in '17. Be it a weekender to a new city you've wanted to visit, or a repeat of a regular annual trip...book it this month! Getting fun things on the calendar makes you want to work hard to earn those trips. It’s fun to book trips, and the associated value of knowing you have to earn them is a positive thing. 2. Call 3 business associates who have fallen out of "rotation" in the last year. (Don't be a putz and use email....pick up the phone.) First, you’ll remember how much you enjoyed that relationship and it will lift you. And, the action itself is contagious, as you’ll probably call others who you’ve enjoyed. The calls will probably lead to something positive that you wouldn’t be able to imagine unless you picked up the phone. 3. Write down 3 SIMPLE goals you want to achieve in January. Make them specific, but easily achievable. I mean, SUPER-EASY goals. Embarrassingly-easy-to-hit goals. We want to chase easy goals in January because we want to “feel accomplished” early in the year. Thus, you’ll feel good about yourself and can build from a foundation of strength. And you know where I’m going next... after you’ve hit those three goals, write down and chase three more! Yes, write them down. It’s part of the “accomplished feeling” we want to achieve, and the good habits we want to cement. There’s nothing more satisfying than crossing things off a list and the associated positive outcomes that result. What naturally comes from this simple exercise is the drive to accomplish more, and getting more serious about goals. With all that comes more sophisticated thinking and hopefully, creativity beyond how you normally think. I agree, January can be daunting. Yes, it can be cold. Yes, it can be dank and grey and wah, wah, wah. I admit I used to be a January moaner and groaner, but I eventually got bored of my excuses and followed the steps I've offered here. And, I divided 1 into 12 and got 8 and realized I didn’t want to waste 8% of my life just because of the name of the month. Be serious about January. Be a pro. |
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