Happy New Year! And, as my friends remember from all of the years you’ve been with me, I prefer to say “happy new day.” Because every day should be a celebration and more importantly than anything else, every day should be a time to refocus and move forward in a positive direction.
You know why I am so adamant about the end of the day huddle, because when done right, two things happen. One, nothing gets missed, every patient is accounted for and every team member gets to share their results from the day to acknowledge whether or not they have succeeded at their goal and stated objective for the day.
Two, it allows you to completely remove all baggage from the day and tie up any loose ends so that when you walk in tomorrow you are ready to start a new day and are focused on new opportunity.
One of my mentors always used the example that in football, quarterbacks had to have a short memory. When they walk out on the field for the next set of downs, whether they scored last time or they got slammed to the ground or they threw an interception, it’s not about what has already happened it’s about what needs to happen next.
Now that we can officially dive into the much anticipated new year, there is no more looking back, only looking forward.
Most importantly, treat every single day like the new opportunity it is and you will be surprised when you play a game with yourself as to just how productive the day can be. You need to be able to make the most of each day of the year in order to make the most of the year itself.
Really, years are made up of lots individual days, which are made up of hours, which are made up of minutes. When a professional gets down to the discipline of focusing on each minute being made effective and used to its highest capability, then you begin to hit your stride. Your momentum starts to compound and, in an almost effortless way, you start getting results with ease.
Your homework for this week doesn’t end today. It’s something that I want you to repeat and reward yourself with every single day, which is to accept a new beginning every 24 hours.
Work hard to not squander any of those hours but no matter what happens: move on, wake up and start over. Just like January 1st gave you the chance to start anew, every day, as the 24 hours reset, you can do the same.
This year and every year I wish you the very best and I sure hope it’s happier for you than any year before. The best news of all is you have total control over that. My best advice is to do yourself the favor of taking that control and making this year everything you want it to be. And remember, it’s going to happen one day at a time.
