We’re now well and truly out of the starter blocks and into the race of 2017. Australia Day’s ‘unofficial’ long weekend is done and dusted and this week sees many back to work after enjoying holidays. Most of the kids are back at school this week and traffic is back to its heaviest. The more relaxed vibe of January has given way to February. We’re officially one month in and things are pretty much back to what we call ‘normal’.
A lot of us will have already pushed off the starter block by now and well into running their race. Others are just commencing. For many, February is the reintroduction of the juggling act of managing family and work routines, schedules, deadlines and commitments and brings back that familiar feeling of being rushed and out of control. Regardless of where you are at, you’re in the race – the race against you, others and the race against time. And how well you run your race will influence your results and how well you can sustain the eleven months ahead.
How will you cross the line?
With vitality, satisfaction, relevance, influence and control? Defeated? Or somewhere in between? That choice is yours but one thing for sure, this race stops for no one.
The race for growth and consistent cash flow is always a challenge to navigate.
The race to be relevant is well and truly heating up with busyness and being reactive it’s main threat.
The race to be influential and to make a positive impact is very competitive with your rivals and unknown rivals doing what they can to ensure they are heard and stand out, creating a following through their positioning.
And the race to keep a firm hand on the control lever is certainly one that will be highly contested this year with many wanting to ensure that 2017 doesn’t happen to them, rather they are in control and are the architects of their own year. Getting caught in the vortex of busy is the antidote to control and must be avoided if you don’t want to fall down the slippery slope of being out of control. It’s hard to come back from.
If you’ve used the past month to implement strategies to support your vision and goals for the year and ‘practiced’ new habits and disciplines that you need to fuel you to sustain your pace then you will be at a competitive advantage. If you haven’t it could be something to attend to immediately. As Rosa Parks said “Knowing what must be done does away with fear.”
This race is fierce – make sure you’re race ready to endure and thrive in what 2017 has in store for you and what you have in store for 2017.
Own it. There’s no avoiding it.