New Year’s resolutions are often made, and rarely adhered to successfully. Perhaps it’s time to change the way we think about New Year’s resolutions!
I’ve developed a different way of thinking about new years resolutions that can help focus, inspire and direct your brand performance, personally and in a corporate environment. Instead of making resolutions that often set us up for failure, why not try to adopt an attitude to guide you through this year.
The idea of brand theme is an aspect of brand building that is usually invisible or beneath the surface, but incredibly inspiring to those who can unlock it – it’s this that you should attempt to uncover when developing your New Year’s resolution this year.
Instead of making a fixed commitment to an absolute outcome, what if you started by simply committing to a theme that you wanted to keep true to during the next 12 months, maybe even just until the end of January or for the period of your new year holiday. Choose a theme, and see whether you can actually deliver a personal brand performance that lives up to that theme’s message or ideal.
The first step is to choose your theme for the year or month – let’s say it’s “be creative”. From there, it’s a simple process of planning different ways to be creative during that time period. Look ahead and decide how you will give yourself the gift of time or of experience, to allow yourself to be creative. Organise your time, set plans in place and keep true to them, so that at the end of your chosen time period you can look back and say, “I lived to the passions and theme that I set for myself.”
Picking a brand theme is a different way of looking at your personal brand performance. It’s less specific, structured and less technical, but if you are taking time off over this period, planning a holiday in the future, or even just embarking on a new experience in life or at work, think about setting a theme to guide you on your journey. It will bring so much more clarity and focus, and allow you to connect much more deeply to the experience.
It might not be as binding as a New Year’s resolution, but it can bring just as much satisfaction and fulfilment if you allow yourself to consider it.
What will your theme be for 2015?
