Like so many other people, I approach a new year with great hope that this will be the year that I finally manage to stop ______________ or finally get serious about _____________. But experience has taught me–and probably you, too–that this sort of resolution doesn’t actually work. Habits cannot be formed or broken overnight and that expectation will always lead to disappointment.
So, rather than setting overly-specific and unreasonable expectations for my immediate metamorphosis into a right-eating, regularly-exercising, non-swearing butterfly…
…I am looking for ways to leverage the motivation of a new year into opportunities for consistent, incremental growth.
Last week, John Stahl-Wert reminded us that while New Year’s Resolutions are often broken, the choice to be resolved about some area of growth has a long history among great leaders. Our friend, Donna Brighton of the Brighton Leadership Group suggests defining a theme for the year. A theme brings freedom and opportunity–a theme cannot be broken or failed.
The staff here at Serving Leaders have each selected a word which will be an organizing principle for our days throughout the year: Perspective. Align. Sell. Revive. Develop. Squirrel. Learning.
As we prepare our offices for our upcoming Office Warming Party we’ve been hanging photos, pictures, and art all around the space. Please join us for the party and check our offices for small reminders of our themes. We’ve got post-its, white board messages, and symbolic art to remind us that transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but consistent, intentional attendance to themes will help us as we continue to grow in 2012.
Have you picked a theme for your year? What is it and why?
