Welcome to 2014! Whether you are a person who officially makes New Year Resolutions or not, you probably have thought of a few changes that you would like to make this year – if you had the time, energy and ongoing resolve to make it happen.

Let’s play with that idea. What if you were able to experience success with at least one change you sincerely wanted to make this year as a leader? What would that one change be? Let’s take it a little deeper and say that the change has to be totally about YOU and not about a change that you want to see in someone else.

What change would be at the top of your list? Some might answer, “I want to change the way I schedule my days so that I can spend more time in classrooms.” Others might respond, “I’d like to delegate more and stop having to make all the decisions.” Another might say, “I’d like to find ways to stop staying late at work every evening, so that I can have more balance in my life.” Still another response might be, “I want to change my attitude, so that I’m better able to motivate myself and others during those hard times.”

One way to determine the change that would be at the top of your list is to write down two or three possible changes you would like to make and then select your top choice. You might even ask a few trusted colleagues, friends or family members to weigh in on a possible change for you. As you think about that top choice, consider these reflective questions:

• What makes this change so important to you?
• How will your work be different if you actually make the change?
• How will this change impact those with whom you work?
• How will it impact your personal life?
• What will be the downside for you and others if the change does not happen?

A friend recently shared that after attending a three-day retreat at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas (this is a health clinic), and learning about healthy eating, exercises, and other life choices, he was eager to make multiple changes in his life until Kenneth Cooper, the clinic owner and renowned author, suggested that he pick just one thing to change – one thing that would not be overwhelming and that he would stay with. Mr. Cooper told my friend that choosing one solid change would serve him much better than trying to make radical changes in the way he was living his life. Cooper said that those sort of extreme changes rarely stick. My friend chose to take up walking. He began this change five years ago and he has stuck with it. He is an advocate of the “change one thing” approach. It sounds like a strategy worth trying. What do you think?