Twenty-Eight Days

Welcome to part two of twelve in 2018! The entire month of February lies before us; it’s a blank page without writing, a wide-open road; the valley from the mountaintop. Albeit the shortest month of the entire year, it could be the greatest. What will you do with the next twenty-eight days? They have limitless potential if you allow them that much. If you dedicated yourself to your goals this entire month, what changes would evidence themselves in your life? I’ll give you a hint; think large.

Perhaps by now the steam has blown off your New Year’s Resolutions. Your ambition is drained, you fell off track, and now you’re right back to where you were December 31, 2017. You gave up on your goals. Trust me, I get it. We’ve all been there before. But I also have some great news for you. Right in front of you lies a second chance called February. Even if you missed the mark for January, you can still go for it. You have everything you need to make 2018 the best year ever and February could be the most incredible twenty-eight days of your life. What’s stopping you?

If you gave up once, you need to start over. This is a feat requiring considerable ambition. Do you have that kind of ambition? Do you want it bad enough to try again in February? Count January a lost cause if you gave up. So, what? You still have eleven months. Whatever it was you slacked off on: diet, exercise program, reading plan, business goals, leadership building; whatever you were trying to better, pick it up and try again. Attack it, pour yourself into it, and think of nothing else for the next twenty-eight days. You will amaze yourself.

Hold up for just a second though. What happened in January? What threw you off track and landed you three steps back? Take a moment and think about what that curveball was. Remember it? Remember the moment, or perhaps slow process, that broke your resolve? Now learn from it. Make positive changes to best position yourself for success. Maybe it’s something as simple as throwing out the junk food so it’s not handy for a stressed-out moment. Maybe it’s a little more complicated, such as disengaging from certain circles where negativity is permeated.

For me it was taming my thoughts. Reining in the mental horses and driving them in the right direction. I realized the source of my slack was my very own mind, and I resolved to eliminate destructive thinking and mindless habits. Altogether too often I find myself venting, complaining and accusing – all in my head. I follow this runaway thought train down a dead-end road; only leaving me frustrated and boiling over in the end. I had to ask myself, what value is this adding to my life? The answer is: NONE. It only leads to a negative, dissatisfied attitude and lack of ambition. I challenged myself to monitor and filter my thoughts more effectively. Every time I catch myself jumping on that old train, I slam the brakes and jump off.

What was it for you? Analyze your failures and learn from them; you will thank yourself for it. Write down a list of things that need to change for you to be successful, then implement those changes immediately.

Now, we are still at the beginning of the 2018 and starting here will not alter your end outcome as drastically as you may think. You still have eleven months before you, so start with twenty-eight days. Concentrate on February, reassess your goals, and go for it.

Let’s do this, let’s make February the best twenty-eight days of your life. Are you with me? I’m rooting for you in February!