Have you thought about — and I mean really thought about — what would make 2016 a great year for you, either personally, professionally or both?

Even if you don’t go for New Year’s resolutions this is something that everyone should ask him or herself on a regular basis.

Far too often, we don’t set clear goals and then we beat ourselves up for not being “successful” or accomplishing some undefined task.

To quote my friend and dynamic motivational speaker Justin Maust, did we take the time to “clarify the win?” Far too often the answer is no.

Justin’s analogy is that no one plays a sporting event without a scoreboard. By that same measure, how can you determine whether you are winning or losing in life if you don’t keep some sort of “score?”

What that looks like would vary greatly from individual to individual.

As we head fully into 2016 it is a perfect time for us to do this on a personal basis and as communities. The best way to clarify these wins is to determine measurable results to which you can aspire.

For me, my professional “win” would be that our newspapers reach more people than ever before and create stories that can have a tangible impact on our communities. On a personal level, it would be to spend at least one night a month as dedicated “daddy-daughter” time with my girls and go out on a real date with my wife once a month.

What would the “wins” be for our communities?

Maybe for Niles it would be to add at least five new businesses in downtown or redevelop at least two of its vacant properties.

Dowagiac’s win might be to set visitor records with its community events.

For Cassopolis, the win may be to make progress on the courthouse project. In the village of Edwardsburg, it could be to lead a successful bond initiative to finance improved public safety.

And these would just be part of the list. Lesser wins should be identified as well, with the end result hopefully being that the positive progress adds up to a real victory for the community.

You can’t win if you don’t keep score. Let’s get our scoreboards up.

 

Michael Caldwell is the publisher of Leader Publications LLC. He can be reached at (269) 687-7700 or by email at mike.caldwell@leaderpub.com.