EchelonOne Consulting

For many of us, the months of December and January are pivotal times. Ends and beginnings. Reunions and separations. Remembering and moving on. They are rich in the rituals of family: reunion, storytelling, reaffirmation, returning to your roots. They are times of crossing over:

• sorting through the tangled strings of our lives
• making choices
• discarding the unwanted bits
• beginning again

A Time for Reunion: Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanzaa, December is the month when families (both families by blood and those “families” we choose) unite—cross cities, continents, and oceans to reaffirm, "This is home. This is where I come from. This is who I am."

A Time for Crossing Over: As one year ends, poised for another to begin, each of us, whether consciously or not, takes stock of our accomplishments and failures, our roles and place, our beliefs and needs. We ask the inevitable questions:

• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• Where do I fit into this helter-skelter world?
• Have I done my best this past year?
• How could I have done better?

There is a pivotal moment for many of us—a threshold where we leave behind the person we were in this waning year and decide what person we will become in the dawning of a new year. I’m one of the many who solidify this experience by making New Year’s resolutions.

How did I do in 2010? You can read my 2010 Resolution Recap at the end of this article.

A Time to Plan: For business owners, these months are for weighing plans and goals against our accomplishments. What worked well? What didn’t? We add one more year’s wisdom to our business tool belt and apply it to our plan for the next. We write it down.

A Time for Goodbye and Hello: These pivotal months are our opportunity to take stock, adjust—hold on to the triumphs and stories of our lives—discard the pieces that drag us down. Say goodbye to the me of 2010. Say hello to the possibility of a better me in 2011.

May it be so for everyone of you.

2010 Resolution Recap

My 2010 Business Resolution: Attend at least three networking functions per month.

Reality: It was tough getting into the habit initially, but I made myself do it. As I became more comfortable with networking, it became less of a chore. Now I find that I actually enjoy it. These days I’m averaging two per week.

My 2010 Personal Resolution: Keep in touch with good friends. Be there for them in times of need. Have lunch/coffee with colleagues and writer friends at least once each month.

Reality: I started off the first half of the year strong, reuniting with some colleagues I hadn’t seen in years. Then came summer. Vacations and busywork got in the way. I never did pick up the threads come September. I’ll need to carry this one over into my 2011promises to myself.

(Image courtesy of jscreationzs and FreeDigitalPhotos.net)