Now is a Good Time to Create Your Future
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

The beginning of a new year is a good time to take stock of where you are and prepare for your future. I believe that the future is created twice – once in our minds and plans and then in reality. Now is a good time to begin the first creation.

Each year, many of us look back on the past year to assess how it went. This is a good annual practice. It is also a great time to create your future. The world is changing faster and faster. We need to have our plan to change also. The new year is a great time to do that. What do you want to accomplish in the coming year? What do you want to learn? What do you want for your job, yourself, your family and friends, and your community? Now is a great time to ask these questions. Now is a great time to lay out your actions for the coming year.

People, teams, and organizations can make massive amounts of change happen with many incremental improvements. Picking a few critical changes (even if they are small) to our approaches will help us grow and be more productive. I use this time of year to make my assessment and commit to making changes. Is it time for you to do the same thing?

Several years ago, I began adopting change efforts surrounding specific habits, especially at the start of each new year. It has worked wonders for me. The new year offers a time when many are considering changes. What research has shown us is that most new years’ resolutions fail because they are not specific and they are not quantified. “Losing weight” or “getting more organized” as a goal will usually end in defeat. However, “losing five pounds through changes in diet” or “keeping a daily journal to become more organized” tend to succeed. The difference is specificity and measurability. You can become who you want to be with the right specific goals and measurable outcomes.

Now is the time for us all to create our future. Creating it through specific plans is its first creation. Executing it through specific actions is how we ensure we actually achieve it. As you get ready for 2020, give yourself the gift of change and opportunity. Your future is yours to create.