It’s that time of year again … the malls are filled with Christmas songs and lights are hanging from every window in my neighborhood. In just a few weeks we’ll be entering 2018, and discussing our list of resolutions. (And 11 months later, we’ll be saying, “Wow. I can’t believe it’s already November. Time flies.” Don’t we say this every year?)

Before I start going deep into my resolution planning (which will no doubt include my annual lose weight resolution), this year I’m taking a step back to reflect on how 2017 went before starting my list. What did I do well? What went poorly? What did I learn from each of my wins and failures? What lessons can I take into this new year?

Once I have the answers to these questions figured out, I’ll be able to craft a pretty good list of realistic resolutions that I may actually meet! For example, I learned this year that our family communicates better when we have dinner together. While I know this may not be realistic with everyone’s schedules, one of my resolutions for 2018 is to make an effort to do this at least three times a week.

This year I’m also going to do something a good friend of mine told me about recently: I’m going to create a “rememberlutions jar.” (I know, it’s a mouthful!) Basically, the jar includes slips of paper that contain all of my accomplishments or things that made me feel good, no matter how small, throughout the year. I’ll fill out the slips of paper as the accomplishments occur. Then, on Dec. 31, 2018, I’ll read through all my slips of paper, and see how far I’ve come!

What are some of your New Year’s resolutions? Are you doing anything unique or different in your resolution-making? Please let me know by dropping me a note at mcampanelli@napco.com.

I hope one of your 2018 resolutions includes getting involved with the Women in Retail Leadership Circle! There are certainly many ways you can do that, as we’ll be hitting the road over the next few weeks and months. First up is the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in January, where we’ll be chatting with some of the brightest female minds in retail at the show’s Podcast Studio A from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET on Mon., Jan. 15. Stop by and listen to our conversations!

Next we’ll be playing host at Total Retail’s Retail Roundtables, taking place in New York City on Feb. 22 and San Francisco on March 15 (Total Retail is the sister brand of Women in Retail Leadership Circle). Join us for these special invitation-only evening events where we talk with top retailers about a multitude of topics, including the trends they see having the biggest impact on their businesses in 2018. Expect fabulous venues, cocktails, conversation and a first-class meal. Complimentary registration can be found here: http://roundtables.mytotalretail.com/.

Lastly, we’re hard at work on the Women in Retail Leadership Summit. We’ve got some fantastic speakers lined up and are adding more on a daily basis. The Summit will be held April 16-18 at the fabulous Ritz-Carlton in Miami. For further information, go to www.womeninretailsummit.com.

I hope to see you all at these events.

And happy holidays!

P.S.: We’re taking a break! We won’t be publishing Inner Circle next week. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and very happy New Year! See you in 2018!