As the weeks have passed on my efforts to be more compliant with the Three Resolutions I have become more and more convinced of the power of the PMS, and therefore the importance of the PMS.

Some sceptics would argued that a PMS isn’t necessary. Many of those who so argue miss the point. They may be successful; they may produce results at a high level of excellence; and they may have great relationships. I know people who fit those descriptions, at least as far as I can tell, and no, they don’t to the best of my knowledge ‘have’ a PMS. They don’t seem to have a written down constitution and set of value statements. (Or they won’t admit to having one because that’s seen to reveal a character flaw in this world of self-standard judging.)

What these nice, pleasant, successful and productive people have is an unwritten PMS and/or set of unwritten value statements. They know what they want and how they’re going to get it in a principled fashion, and they set about doing that. Good on them, and may that continue.

Some of us, though, like the idea of having these things written down as (a) a reminder of what we are doing, why and how we will do it and (b) as a public declaration of those things so that we can be held to account when we wander off course.

In the context of (a) we recognise that there will be occasions when, through fatigue, overwhelm, stress or even danger we might not quite act in accordance with our values and we want to remind ourselves that those are the very times when we MUST so act. In the case of (b) we recognise that sometimes we are not strong enough in ourselves to act in accordance with our PMS and it would be nice if, just IF, our friends, family, colleagues and others would support us in getting us back on track instead of either pulling us off track or taking the mick because we have ‘failed’.

The public declaration of my PMS on this website, on my t-shirts (5, not 4 as I said a while ago) and all the other visible ‘declarations’ in terms of the edited highlights (7H-3R) have those motives. Some people who I respect, like and even love think it’s fun to take the p**s. So be it. It gives me a chance to exercise its stated intent on character to an even higher level. (But look to yourselves for your own intent and see if you want your actions to reflect your character.)

But even the simple act of putting my PMS on my laptop as the main screen wallpaper has caused me to execute in its regard. I’ll be surfing away or working on something routine when I see the PMS glaring at me, and despite my fatigue and (slowly wavering!) dislike for running I will change and go out there and do what I have declared I will do, because it addresses all Three Resolutions – Discipline (Resolution1), Character (Resolution 2) and Service (I’m preparing for a sponsored event and to support a team effort). The same applied to the hours I’ve put in the last two weeks on the Professional Investigator’s Manual and a colleague’s PowerPoint presentation – it’s about the Mission, and the Mission serves me and makes me better, while also serving others.

Eventually the PMS will be emotionally tattooed on my sub-conscious but for now, and even after that happens, the words I wrote – no-one wrote them for me, they are my words, my intent and my focus – will remain where I place them. In public, both pictorially and (I intend) visually in what I do and how I do it.

Now go and write yours. Then live it!

Weekly Challenge

I just told you! Go and write yours. You have 7 days, and I’d love to see them in the Comments section when you’ve finished. If you’re stuck, try http://www.franklincovey.com/msb .

Blog Part

Hit the wall on a run this week but ran through it. I say run, more of a struggle. My weight loss was only half a pound but the (ahem) waste disposal system is a bit slow and I expect next week’s results will compensate. I mean the weight, not the other thing. I am but 5lbs behind schedule, now.

But I was so productive and positive it hurt, so the concepts of Discipline-Character-Competence really are working for me.

I’m also developing next year’s A4 (letter sized) personal planning system, creating DIY forms and all the paper I’ll need to manage myself for the 12 months after my current Daytimer expires. (Dear FranklinCovey/Daytimer/Filofax – you need to go A4, 2 pages to a day with a 4 ring binder for us Brits.) I’ve prepared my planning diaries up to 2017 so I’ll not be buying an industry-designed planner until at least then. Unless their pretty catalogues start tempting me as they tend to do whenever they plop on the hallway mat…….

My 2015 Planning System, courtesy of do-it-yourself forms, a Dymo printer and a Filofax leather binder that cost £2 in a charity shop. You’ll note my PMS behind the plastic divider…..