“If you are going in the wrong direction you are only going to get where you don’t want to go, faster.” –Stephen Covey

Has anyone eaten any jellied cranberry sauce since Thanksgiving? Told you it wasn't a favorite.

This edition wraps up the 2020 version of the Wednesday Weblog. Thanks to everyone who has shared their thoughts, ideas and comments this year.

Particular thanks are due to Bill in Spain, (Never been to Spain, but I've been to Oklahoma) Jim in Florida, Mike in Puerto Rico, Margaret in New York, Erin in Connecticut, Perry in South Carolina, Bob in Washington and of course, Betty in Jefferson for their regular help and advice as I develop the genre. (Always wanted to use genre in a sentence. Bucket list is getting shorter.)

I hope your 2021 is one that is memorable for different reasons than 2020.

Every year at this time we get a brand spanking new gift: a 365-day year stretching out in front of us. After the dumpster fire that we call 2020, I’ve never seen so much excitement to move on to the new year.

But realize, just like last year at this time, we are mere months away from saying “Can you believe it is May already?” Or “Can you believe it is Halloween already?”

Right now, we can’t say any of those things, although we can say “Do you believe it is the new year already?”

But our main attention should probably be on unwrapping that 365-day gift staring us in the face on January 1st.

We all know, almost intuitively, that the 'new' year brings something 'new' to our life: it could be a new baby, a new car, a new friend, a new running event, a new role, a new boss, a new pair of shoes, a new shirt, a new book, a new job, a new stimulus payment, a new Ironman challenge, a new grandchild, a new trip, a new guitar, a new favorite TV show, or a new water heater (gave my wife one for Christmas this year).

But how do you 'unwrap' the gift of a new year?

If you think of the new year as a Gift Card, rather than a simple gift, with 365 days loaded on it in a 'use it or lose it' format.

If you don't use the gift that is 2021, you can't get a refund: once the day is gone, it is spent and you can't get it back. If we could, the line for refunds on the 2020 gift would be pretty damn long.

What will you be saying about your 2021 gift card usage one year from now? It depends on how you spend it (more than your ability or skill or willingness). It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you spend your gift on the wrong things, you won’t be happy.

Conversely, you have more say and more impact on how YOUR year goes than anyone else. You can overcome poor leadership, adverse weather, strong competition and poor support and yes, even parts of a pandemic, by spending your time on the right things. 

Here's a recipe to make one right thing for you to spend time on in 2021 that only requires four ingredients: you, a plan, a little determination, and 365 days. For those of you who are right brained (or is it left brained) the formula looks like this:

Here’s what some call ‘irrefutable evidence’ of the validity of the formula. Think back to your personal skill set one year ago,. Remember you then? Are you better at anything than you were then? Better at watching Netflix doesn't count.

I am certain you ARE better in at least one attribute today than you were then. It could be fitness or weight, or it could be you have a puppy and have learned to talk gibberish, of maybe you even learned something in school. Learning in school? Rare, I know, but still possible.

What I can also guess about that one thing you are better at today is that you didn’t plan on being better at that one thing today, it…just…happened. Imagine how good you would be if that improvement was planned, instead of accidental or organic?

As an example, my rough carpentry skills are better because I did a lot of projects this year (thank you pandemic). How good are they? I actually bought an electric nail gun at a charity auction in the fall because of the confidence boost I got this year. Big step as the carpenters out there know, right Joe?

Just to be clear, I haven’t actually opened the shrink-wrapped nail gun package yet, or read the directions but I do stare at it every day when I walk by it on a shelf, and if someone asks me if I have a nail gun I can finally, after all these years, say ‘of course.’ Not sure if 'nail gunning' is going to my one thing or right thing, but it is in the running.

Just to repeat: imagine if that one thing you are better today compared to last year was actually part of a plan? You would be awesome, n’est pas?

Here’s the thought: don’t feel bad about not setting New Year’s Resolutions or breaking them.

Instead pick one thing and put together a little plan, just between you and you, to get better at that one thing this year. Better than you’ve ever been. Call it a self-development plan if you need a title, or call it a sh*t prevention plan. What you do is more important than what you call it.

What to choose? Well, would a good place to start be whatever would make the biggest impact on your world if it was better?

How could you become more valuable to your employer if you have an employer? What skill has always eluded you that you know you need or what skill are you embarrassed about because you are weak or lack it? (See me for Outlook training if that is your decision).

Your one rightt hing in 2021 could be learning more in Microsoft Excel, or social media, or scrambling eggs, or doing the dishes, or being on time (you know who you are) or public speaking, or returning the shopping cart to the corral instead of leaving it in the parking lot (you also know who you are). I haven't decided yet, but becoming a Tik Tok dancer made the final four.

You don’t need an army or an expert or a coach or a mentor to get better, although they all are helpful. You just need you, a plan, a sprinkling of determination and a 365-day gift card. 

Since you already have you, and the 365 day gift card, looks like a little plan and a little determination are all that’s needed, and you are on your way to being significantly better at that one thing than a year ago at this time.

Gotta go, I think I left a shopping cart in a parking lot, and I have to get ready to unwrap 365 day gift.

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