From its very beginnings NLP has always been focused on the difference that makes the difference.

It's not just a nice phrase, it's at the core of using NLP well.

Today is a great time to review how far you've progressed on your dreams and goals, to reflect back on the past 3, 6, or 12 months and ask:

* What did I accomplish?

* What did I learn?

* Who did I choose to be?

* How did I get in my own way?

Think about what you want to accomplish and experience in the year ahead.

But rather than think of it through the traditional lens of goal setting, think of it through the lens of what difference will make the difference.

If you're not happy with the current status quo of your life or if you want things to be significantly different, then you are going to have to make some pretty big and different choices.

And then implement them.

Sounds easy, but few people ever start entirely from a new slate.

We drag our past with us. Our stories. Our perceived limitations.

Each of us has accumulated a system of habits, thoughts and believing that act either as enablers or get in the way of making change easy and automatic.

Even when we realise the need to do things different, how that is usually exhibited in real world behaviour is usually merely doing things slightly differently, yet expecting a different result.

Is there a difference between different and differently?

Absolutely, and if you want to be more successful in the years ahead, it pays to know the difference between the two.

Whenever we do things differently, what people usually think of is doing things marginally different (in reality mostly the same).

The iPhone 7 for example, is for the most part, an incremental improvement, a slight difference over the iPhone 6 and 6S.

They've upgraded the camera, CPU, speakers etc. However the core features are still mostly the same. It's an evolution, not a revolution.

Doing things different is about doing things in a majorly different way.

The first iPhone, released in 2007 was a great example of a product being truly different.

It broke the mold on what a 'phone' did and what users could come to expect from one.

It became the defining standard for a whole new class of device, the 'smartphone'.

So when you think of what you want to be different next year, ask yourself what are you willing to do different?

If the change you want to see is large from where you are right now, then so too will be the actions you need to create the result you want.

You'll only limit yourself and hamper your progress by doing more of the same.

Don't do differently, do DIFFERENT.

If you'd like to learn how to do different and change your life, then be sure to check out our latest course, Habit Hacking.

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