Happy New Year! 
Lots of folks make New Year’s resolutions and almost as many folks break them within a matter of weeks. I think that is because the resolutions are not connected to any serious desire to make a change. When I do leadership training, I encourage folks to ask three questions. What? So What? Now What?
“What” takes a look at what you have done in the past. To list all the stuff you have done, to be aware of the role you have played and the roles others have played. To see what connections were made, what relationships were built and what were destroyed.
“So What” asks what difference all of that made. Did you have a positive impact? A negative impact? Did you make a difference in someone else’s life, did someone make a difference in yours. In all of the things you did, did they help you move closer to your goals or further away?
“Now What” asks what the next steps need to be. Having looked at what you did and the difference it made, what is next? This is where New Year’s resolutions come in. With your goals firmly in mind, plan your next steps. Figure out what resources you will need, will you need to develop some new skills. “Now what” may also require you to rethink the goals you have set, to check your road map and see if that is where you really want to go. It is also a time to find the confidence, perhaps the courage, to continue moving forward.
I am in the process of ending one job and moving towards another. There’s a lot of “What, So What, Now What?” going on. But it helps me get some focus and make some important decisions.
I hope your New Year is filled with both new opportunities and new challenges. There is a blessing that comes from somewhere that says, “May your journey be interesting.”
Keep listening, keep playing, keep living.
Peace,
Rick