New year resolution "2008"

I may not be getting better at much else, but I am getting better at making New Year's resolutions. Mine for 2008 is the best I've ever made. It's positive, it's ambitious, it's inspiring but it also has a highish chance of success. It is to be competent.

In the old days I used to make the classic mistake of resolving to stop doing things that I knew were bad.

These resolutions failed within hours. If you do bad things knowing they are bad, there must be something pretty powerful compelling you to do so.
So simply to state one dark day in midwinter (a time when bad habits are needed to keep morale up) that you are quitting is to set yourself up for certain, instant and ignominious failure.
This year I decided to find out where I was going wrong. David Maister, author of Strategy, says that individuals fail with New Year resolutions in just the same way that companies fail with strategy. Everyone knows what they ought to do; they know why and how. But actually doing it is another matter altogether. He thinks we ask ourselves the wrong question. Instead of wondering what we would like to change, we should ask which changes we might be prepared to make.

So this year I have quit misleading myself and am going for competence. Yet I disagree that this is merely nothing to be ashamed of. Surely competence is something to be proud of, and a worthy resolution not just for 2008 but forever? Being competent is really quite hard. It means overcoming laziness, sloppiness and disaffection. It requires increasing effort over time as standards rise and conditions change. For me, it will be tough to be competent in 2008, but I'm deeply, sincerely committed to trying.