It’s that time of year again – people all around us are shaping their New Year’s Resolutions.  Whether these resolutions are personal or professional, they are usually BIG.  The challenge I find with big resolutions is that they require a huge effort – you will need to change your behavior in a material way, and probably overnight.  In my own life, I’ve found that I can actually accomplish a lot more by committing (truly committing) to much smaller changes in behavior. 

In 2010 I wanted to “get in better shape”.  This was not a well defined goal, though, and it would have been easy to fail.  I was already exercising “some”, so “better” was a little too vague in terms of what I would need to do to get there.  I went back to the drawing board and committed to increasing from 3-4 workouts per week to 5.  Now that is a well defined goal, and only a slight change from what I was already doing.  (You will be happy to know that I succeeded.)

I make similar commitments to myself professionally.  Each January, I draft a short list of my personal and professional goals for the coming year.  Each goal is clearly defined, measurable, and (most importantly) something I REALLY want to achieve in the coming year.  I post the list directly above my computer monitor.

I keep the list short so that I’m not overwhelmed, and I build on the list from the prior year so that I can succeed without having to make large changes in the day to day.  If in 2010, I wanted to read 9 business books, for example, in 2011 I will set out to read 1 each month.  The behavior is already there, and I’m only looking to increase my challenge slightly – yet I will have an opportunity to learn so much more!

As you consider the year ahead, think about the goals in your heart – the goals that you want to achieve which will impact your life years from now.  Then consider what you could do this year to get on the path toward achieving them.  If you want to sell your business and retire in 2020, for example, what steps can you take this year toward that goal?  Are there people you should recruit?  Customers you need to understand better?  Do your sales goals for 2011 align with your long term vision?

Make a small change today, to set in motion a plan for big things to come.