Resolve this!

New Years, birthdays, anniversaries--they're all good time to pause, take stock and set goals. So often we call this the Revolving Resolution time.

Revolving, because they keep coming back again and again and again . . . . you know the list.

We may be setting ourselves up for failure when we write down these goals . . . but we could also be realigning ourselves to a noble vision that's been crowded out of the picture by everything else we deal with on a daily basis.

In January, the Chamber will kick off our Women in Business Season with "Resolve This!" a fun presentation by The Amazing Maxwell which is meant to help us leave grumpy depressing 2009 behind and focus on 2010 with positive energy, a can-do spirit and . . .optimism.

Remember optimism?

One of the things I enjoy most about Chamber work, is the contagious optimism that spreads when members get together. We may call it networking, or you could call it synergy--whatever it is the Chamber seems to have a lot more Tiggers than Eeyores--and that makes these events fun.

Remember fun?

Brian Tracy advises you to surround yourself with like minded optimistic people if you want to be successful. This peer group will keep you motivated, keep you energized, help you celebrate successes and help you rebound quicker from set backs.

Stephen Covey talks about putting First Things First and planning by plunking down your imporant "big rocks" first and then filling in the rest of your day, week and month with the other stones, pebbles and sand that need to be done.

Resolution time is about remembering those big rocks. Looking at your day, week, month, and year ahead and putting them on your calendar.

Covey also reminds you that you "Start Over Every Day."

It takes 3 weeks for a new routine to become a habit. Can you start over every day for 3 weeks?

And if you are successful--what new habits would you want to cultivate?

Yes there are the health habits, which we all work on with varying degrees of success. That doesn't mean they are unimportant--it does mean we have to start over every day and "Just DO it!"

There are the learning habits, which some of us work on formally by going back to school, working for continuing education credits or degrees--or informally by learning new hobbies, new sporting activites, listening to podcasts, CDs, books on tape, rss feeds, blogs and other sources of information.

There are the social habits. When I was growing up my dad had the longest arms of any human being. There were 5 of us kids and at the dinner table if you were out of line, he could reach across the table with lightening reflexes and give you a "thunk on the head." Just a thunk. Enough to get your attention and then there'd be the reminder, which as often as not came from my mother--who seemed to be in on this tag team. "Don't interrupt. Let your sister finish speaking." Okay . . . I'm still working on that skill. New Years is a good time to remember that it's not polite to cut the other person off, finishe their sentance or change the subject just as they're getting to the good part.

Social habits are the frosting on the cake of relationships. Do you listen as much as you talk? Are you sincerely interested in the other person when they're talking? Do you follow up? Do you say thank you? When someone sends you a referral do you remember to do the same?

At the April Women in Business event we'll be talking "True Colors" personality evaluation and training. In True Colors code, the people that do the social habits well are the "Blues." They know that relationships are at the heart of our families, friendships, business and society.

I'm not a Blue . . . but I have some Blue in me and I get it. I see it in operation at our Chamber functions. Members who are good at cultivating and maintaining relationships have a higher chance of business success. It's not fluff. It's important.

So Resolve This!

1. Make your health and wellness a priority--and start over every day. Don't let one cake derail you for another year.

2. Start learning something new this month. You don't have to tackle something big, ostentacious and amazing, like say, particle acceleration--but surely there is SOMEthing you've hankered to know more about. SOMEthing you want to learn how to do. This year . . . do it.

(Brian Tracy tells the story about learning that one of the biggest markets for motivational books and lectures was Germany. And he was the #2 Motivational Speaker there. In order to be #1, all he had to do was learn to speak German fluently. So he took a look at his schedule, possible training options and realized--that in 7 years he could be fluent in German. A friend exclaimed, "SEVEN years! That's a really long time, why bother?" And Brian replied, "In 7 years I'll be 7 years older whether I learn German or not. If I DO learn German I'll be 7 years older and the #1 motivational speaker and author in Germany.")

3. Practice your social graces. Ask questions of others and learn about them before rushing in to talk about yourself. Say thank you. Write thank you's (and yes--even emails count). Give referrals. Make "Givers gain." a habit! (Terry Bean recently published an eBook on networking and he stresses the point again and again--GIVERS GAIN. It could be a universal truth.)

And here's the key to success.
WRITE down your goals.
REVIEW your goals at least weekly.
Look at your progress in weekly and monthly terms--not just daily. In excel, they're called trend lines. It doesnt' matter if Monday was a blip--if the trend line for the week is pointed in the right directly.

For more information on the Chamber's events, activities and resources that can help you reach your goals visit: www.clarkston.org