We're four days until the end of a year we can't wait to say goodbye too. I bet 2020 gives new meaning to New Year's resolutions. While we can hate on this year with all our might, it also gave us an opportunity to refocus our priorities. I know it did for me. For some, it was an amazing year because they were poised for remote work and remote living. It was baked into their life already. Mark Manson has a solid read on what this year provided him. He's a great read on any day. As someone who lived abroad and worked remotely earlier on in his life, he learned to appreciate the little things that normally would upset the proverbial apple cart.

Mark believes that 2020 will make 'normal' life seem like a breeze in comparison when we return. But I still believe we'll never go back to what was. It will be some new version. And this may not be the last pandemic either.

Maybe this was a wake up call to our complacency. Maybe we'll learn to live differently. Lighter. Intentional. Or maybe not. Your mileage may and will vary. That is certain. For this letter, a few thoughts to put a bow on this year and look forward to 2021.

Resolution polution

Okay, every year we want to eat better, get fitter, smarter and greater. And every year that lasts until we encounter the first challenge. Companies everywhere predate on our desire for more and better. Resolutions don't work because they focus on the wrong thing. They focus on the grand gesture. The dramatic change. The desire for overnight success. Which is a fallacy of course. Yet we fall prey to it. Over and over. At least we're consistent!

What about something more subtle, more boring and thus more sustainable? Tiny changes you can fit into your life that you won't hardly notice until you do? You have to trick your brain to make things stick. One of my favorite articles on the science behind change is this article called the Neuroscience of Leadership from 2006. The skinny is that change fails because we have to convert the new thing from our working memory which is energy intensive to to the basal ganglia which requires less conscious thought. Just like learning to drive a car. Hard and requiring all of our focus at first, it becomes second nature in time. It takes repetitive reinforcement. Just like anything you want to master. Practice, right? Why would resolutions be any different? And that's the rub. We don't practice. We revert back to what we know. When habits stick they've moved to the basal ganglia, freeing up your prefrontal cortex for the new.

I encourage you to read, digest and bookmark this article as you think about what's worked for you and why, and what hasn't. As well, how you imagine your future. . .

It goes deep into several different areas, but I want to highlight three main points:

• Focus is power. The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain.
• Expectation shapes reality. People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive.
• Attention density shapes identity. Repeated, purposeful, and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution.

What if your year had 36 months?

Can the dramatic resolutions. My suggested takeaway, is to think both smaller and longer term. Think about how to take small steps daily to figuratively make it around the globe before you know it.

Howard Mann, respected business turnaround coach talks about thinking in terms of the 36 month year. The crux is that we start a year with some incremental goals and then push through December to hit them, only to rinse and repeat in January. It's like Groundhog Day he says. Rather, what if you thought in terms of a 36 month year to move from incremental growth to exponential growth? What if the first twelve months were planting the seeds, laying the foundation, the next twelve about gaining traction through execution, and then the next twelve moving from incremental to exponential growth. He doesn't infer that you ignore what's necessary in a traditional year. But rather, think about how you can put your normal business on a sort of autopilot to keep the incremental growth going, while you reimagine what's possible given the time, space and patience it takes to see exponential growth. Spend four minutes and listen to him explain this.

But what about you as an individual?

Apply the same framework. Keep your life on autopilot: the bills paid, incremental savings coming in. Overall stability. Fix the plumbing when it breaks. Keep the weeds pulled.

But then imagine what you want your future life to look and feel like. When your daily survival is not dependent upon dramatic change, your mind creates space for imagining something bigger. It all goes back to what you want and what you think is possible. And making what's possible a habit. Inject a little business into your life management to free up space for joy and ease.

How you see influences what you notice.

Many people know I have a photography habit. The camera is the one certain and constant companion in my life. The cameras used have taken on many forms and formats over the years, but I bask in the joy of making images. It never gets old.

I've mentioned Jay Maisel before as an amazing photographer who's influenced me. Well into his 80s, he still gets that spark at making new images. He's an icon who has influenced many. Two weeks with him 25 years ago changed my life with photography. Learning to see opens up a new way of being in your life and work. For those inclined to make pictures, one of Jay's maxims is to pay attention to the corners and the image will take care of itself. Another was that interesting people make interesting pictures. Stay curious. Stay interested. Doing is where discover the intersection of your life and magic.

Whether you like taking pictures or not, watch the film about Jay and his home called "Jay Myself". He lived and worked in a 36,000 square foot former bank building in which every corner was filled with his life. And every visit by those who came and worked with him yielded something new. Stephen Wilkes, who made the film, has given the world a gift. Now sold, this film allows the magic of Jay's bank and life live on. Check out Stephen's work, too. Particularly his series Day to Night.

Seeing has become automatic for me. It is helpful when I can connect dots in interesting ways. Most unhelpful when I see all of the flaws in my work and things around me. Put simply, a door ding in the car can look like a crater on the moon. Talk about blowing things out of perspective. Mostly, though, 'seeing' helps you appreciate the life before you. To find joy in the mundane. And this year, it's been an essential gift. I encourage you to see what you've been missing.