28 Days Later...

I like January.

We’re past the shortest day…in theory moving towards brighter, longer days.

It’s also time to turn over a new leaf – literally – in the diary.

And that’s the bit I like best about January:  a new year lies ahead and it feels as if anything is possible.

Of course, to make the possible happen, we often have to two things.  Firstly, plan what it is we want to happen.  Secondly, stop doing the things that have made progress impossible.

In other words – we have to set goals and resolutions.

I’ve always believed in goal-setting.  Why let the year happen to you rather than decide what you want to happen?

Or as one of my clients puts it:  “Create your own plan – or be prepared to be part of somebody else’s!”

But you have to write down your goals.

An oft-quoted true story comes from Harvard University in the States.

A group of students was asked if they had goals.  Of course most said they did.

But almost three decades later when researches revisited those they could trace to see if their goals had been realised, they found something remarkable.

The 3% who had written down their goals all those years ago were now worth more than the 97% who had not. 

The road to hell – they say – is paved with good intention.  If you fail to write down your goals, it’s simply an intention.  If you write them down – and follow your own plan – you map out your future.

So that’s goals.  But what about setting resolutions?

Well that can be more difficult, because it often involves resolving to break bad habits and replace them with good new ones.

Several years ago, I interviewed - for an RBS audio production – Dr Steven Covey, author of the highly-acclaimed “7 Habits of Highly Successful People”.

I asked him how long it took to make or break a habit.

“28 days” was his precise answer.

He then explained that we cut a groove in our thought process if we do the same thing repeatedly for a month.  It becomes our habit – and replaces other bad habits which also had been stuck in a groove.

The difficulty is cutting the new groove for 28 successive days – whether that’s stopping smoking, banning cakes from your diet or slowing down behind the wheel.

But, Dr Covey assured me, it only takes 28 days.

In mapping out our route to success, we follow a key Broadcasting Business principle:

Positive thinking, channelled by effective preparation, leads to success.

So this week – the first working week of 2011 – have you set yourself goals and have you embarked on habit-changing resolutions?

If so, good luck.  Enjoy your progress.

If not, may I suggest you resolve to set new goals in the first pages of your brand new 2012 diary?

And that, in the meantime, you prepare to be part of somebody else’s plan in 2011.