Today is New Year’s Day, a day where many are considering their New Year’s resolutions. But this blog is not about New Year’s resolutions. I won’t be providing advice on how to set resolutions, what they should be, how to keep up with them, or even ways to set them more effectively.
I’d like to challenge you to take a step back, and instead of thinking about the additional things you need to do this year, ask yourself: Am I doing the right things?
In Greg McKeown’s Essentialism, he relays the history of the word “priority” and explains that it originally only existed in the singular form for a reason. Only in the 1900s was the word pluralized to “priorities” to fit our evolving lifestyles. McKeown encourages his readers to focus, and I want to encourage us to do the same this year.
“Purpose tells us when to say yes. Priority reveals when to say no” (The Lens of Leadership).
Heading into 2019, it will be tempting to add a lot of things to your already long list—to try to do more, to be more, and to succeed more. But have you stepped back and audited your current activities? You may be doing a lot of good things, but are you doing the right things?
Consider this question: What might you need to stop doing, so you can start doing, or more effectively do, what’s most important?
Peter Drucker used to say, “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right thing.”
I don’t want us to merely manage our lives in 2019. I want us to lead and lead well. Don’t just look at everything on your plate and figure out how to do it better. Instead, examine that plate with fresh eyes to see if you’ve got the right things on it.
Here’s to entering 2019 with a relentless resolve to doing the right things!
