The new year is still
pretty new, so…how are your resolutions coming along?
It’s only natural that we
would feel optimistic at the beginning of another year. Once every 12 months we
get a new beginning, a fresh start.
So we tell ourselves we’re
going to do this, or that. We promise ourselves that this year will be a better
year. And we jump in with both feet, ready to make it happen.
Within a few weeks,
however, things change. Why?
If you’re anything like
me, the pace of life at the end of the year is different. I’m not talking so
much about our personal lives—after all, the holidays aren’t exactly a quiet
time. I’m talking about our business lives. Things slow down noticeably in December. People take time off. You can’t
reach customers. Billings take a break.
It’s something we plan
for. “You can’t get ahold of anybody during the holidays,” we say. So what do
we do? We start planning for the new year. We decide to do things better. We
set goals.
To put it another way, we
make resolutions. And that’s a good thing. Every business or success coach will
agree you’ve got to fix the right goal in your mind before you can accomplish
anything.
Except, January comes.
Business picks up. People start calling. Orders come in. Expectations are high.
And those goals that seemed so attainable when things were quiet just a few
weeks earlier get put on the back burner. Hopes, dreams and new ideas get
pushed aside by a little thing we call reality.
As the saying goes, you go back to working in your business, instead of working on your business.
Don’t sweat it. It happens
all the time, to all of us. Rather than give up and give in, however, why not
take an hour or two, right now, to revisit those plans you made last month, and
figure out how to pursue them?
Think about it: When you
had some time to clear your mind and your desk, you came up with some pretty
good ideas. You told yourself you were going to do something about them.
So, do something about them. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and set
your resolve again—right now, today, while there’s still time.
You solved your problems
once. Now it’s time to resolve them.
Here’s to a successful
year!
MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source, a Canton, Ohio sign company.
