The beginning of the new year is a perfect time for goal setting and personal development. Here are my goals for 2018:

Goal #1
Maintain the personal routine. One of my resolutions from 2017 was to create and maintain a strong personal routine. As the year went on, the routine evolved. At times throughout the year, the routine included prayer, meditation, reading, journaling, exercise and sleep tracking. Over the course of the year, journaling and exercise were the only elements that made it the entire year as a constant. I was able to maintain these habits. Prayer was a strong habit on and off throughout the year. Meditation had a consistent presence in my routine for the first five months of 2017, then faded. I still used it on occasion, but not as consistently as during those early months. Reading was much more consistent and prolific in the second half of the year. My goal has been to read one book per month each year, which equates to 12 per year. I have used this same goal for many years as it is attainable for me. Once I began focusing on reading as part of my routine, I read nine books in 6 months. It’s not that much in comparison to prolific, avid readers, but is 150% of my normal consumption.
I include that summary of my routine so that you can see some of the evolutionary. How it was a journey of discovery and adaptation in 2017. It was really good for me. Just having the routine was enriching to my life, making me calmer in some ways, more productive in others. That is why I am choosing this again as a goal for 2018. I want to maintain a strong personal routine.

Goal #2
Expand to a consistent organizational development routine. This means working on the business as a whole so that it grows and develops. Seeing the personal value of being consistent in my routine, I want to instill these habits in my work schedule as well. There are some routines that exist internally such as weekly, monthly, quarterly meetings. However, I think I can do more. By being consistent in the activities I take on to be laser-focused on objective and patterned in behavior, I believe I can lead the organization in a more virtuous way. Lead in a way that helps us achieve more, grow faster as people, improve processes and as an overall business.

Goal #3
Become an empowering encourager. This goal comes from a pattern of my behavior and leadership I do not like. I am tired of leaving meetings and interaction feeling bad, knowing that I made the other person feel a little bit worse. I am not mean-spirited. I do not yell, berate, use foul language or anything like that. However, I am critical. I realize that there is a better way. I want others to leave meetings and interactions with me feeling better. I want them to leave feeling encouraged, ready to achieve greater things after their interaction with me. If I am critical, I want it to be towards a greater good, not a harsh judgment of their performance. If I educate, I want the experience to be empowering to use that knowledge to reach higher. I am grateful for the people in my life that speak to me in a way that empowers me to be better. I sincerely want to be the same way for the people that interact with me. This goal will be benefited by goal #1 and will help with goal #2, making for a great set.

Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to make the same reflections and set goals for yourself. If so, write them down and keep working at them. If you are willing to share, please share. I will do my best to encourage you along the way. That is one of my goals after all.