2013: Skip the Resolution, Adopt a Concept Instead

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It's that time of the year again! So what is your big resolution for 2013?

• To put money into a special savings account (or under your mattress) each week?
• Going cold turkey on: junk food, or artificial sweeteners, or chocolate, or smoking, or Internet dating, or ... ? 
• To lose 20 pounds by: Valentines Day, which on Feb. 14th becomes St. Patrick's Day, which morphs into 4th of July ... ? 
• To resolve NOT to have a resolution because they are cliche?

Why not try something different in 2013?

Instead of jumping on the resolution bandwagon (and more than likely having it go by the wayside in the first few weeks) consider adopting a single, meaningful word/concept, and make it your year-long mantra. Personally, I will be working on EFFICIENCY in 2013. On a daily basis, I will apply this principle to everything from money matters, to business/personal relationships, to my career, and beyond. 

I will start off tomorrow morning by taking down a list of ways (both broadly and perhaps specific examples) in which I have not been efficient in 2012. I will take about 1/2 hour to do an initial list, leaving room to write a solution below each one. I'll add to the list throughout the day (as choices/behaviors come up), and at the end of the day, I will review my list. I will add a solution below each item: The solution would equate to the way in which I would do it differently, more efficiently, in 2013. I will likely take a look at my list from time to time to refresh my thinking as the days turn into weeks, and into months.

So how do I envision EFFICIENCY might translate into everyday life?

• I will strive to be more efficient in my professional life/my career. I will actively work to find that delicate, yet achievable balance between rushing into action without an intelligent plan, versus spending so much time on a plan that it leaves limited room for rubber hitting the road.

• I will approach exercise and general wellness with efficiency as both the driver and a goal. Planned workouts that are short on time invested, yet intense enough to make an impact, that will provide the maximum bang for my buck.

• I will strive to handle my personal and business finances in a more efficient manner. Taking a strong look at where to spend money and ways to make my dollar stretch – especially in this impending doom and gloom economy. 

• I will look at food as fuel and as something that should, in effect, help my body to operate efficiently. This can also easily translate into a positive change re: money spent on those same food choices.

• I will apply efficiency to my general thought process. Instead of spending time and emotional energy dwelling on something negative, I will spend that same time figuring out solutions and/or ways to move on swiftly.

And so forth. With one word front-of-mind, and a concept that is translatable across so many broad and specific facets of day-to-day living, my hope is that it will not only be easier to recall and stick to, but will deliver so much more quality to my life than a single (possibly empty) promise to myself. 

What single word/concept will be your foundation in 2013?