Resolutions are not for everyone. But often, the new year sparks a desire in people to evaluate where they are in their professional and personal lives. More than any other time of the year, now is the time people make resolutions and goals for the future.
When you establish goals and plans, it should serve as a motivator to accomplish greater things in the year ahead and serve as a road map for success and growth for the future. You do not have to overthink your plan or make it elaborate…jotting down a few goals might be all you need to do.
I have put together some suggestions below to think about as you craft your roadmap for the new year. These are the things I am considering, and I hope they help you as you take on all the opportunities the future has to offer.
Be Daring: Step out of your box this year. Sometimes you need to do things that remind you of who you are. Learn a new skill (s), test a new idea or concept that you have been toying with or venture into a new area of your business or industry that you want to learn more about. The risk of not doing this is growing stagnant which is far worse than any fear you may have of trying new things.
Resilience: If you are in a slump and things are not going your way, try to draw on a recent success that you achieved to motivate and inspire you while also using failure as a teacher instead of consuming you.
Be grateful: A smart person once said…”I never appreciated how lucky I was until I started counting my blessings.” Remember, no matter how bad your day or week is going, there is always a huge number of people who have it worse. Be thankful for all you have in your life and what you have achieved, it puts everything in perspective.
Collaborate: Successful people know how to check their ego at the door. When you collaborate with people you respect it makes the value to enhancing an idea, strategy, plan, etc. limitless. Brining in new and different energy, perspectives, and backgrounds to develop and strengthen something you started can take things to the next level and to places you never imagined. Open yourself up to collaboration and avoid being territorial and trapping yourself into one way of thinking.
Fulfillment: If you are not feeling a sense of fulfillment in what you are doing, stop doing it. You will only realize true success when you are spending time working on things that are gratifying and that you enjoy, and with people that you enjoy. Enjoyment does not necessarily mean easy, it means that you feel a sense of purpose, contribution, and appreciation – everyone deserves this, and you should never waiver in expecting only the best for yourself.
Originality: It is hard to compete with an original. Even if it takes a while for people to catch up, it is always better to be the thought leader than a follower. Eventually everyone will try to replicate your ideas, but by then you will have moved on to the next big idea. Resist the temptation to emulate other’s success and soon you will find other’s trying to emulate yours.
Accountability: If you do not have a system to hold yourself accountable for whatever you want to achieve in the new year, create a system. It does not have to be cumbersome, it can be as simple as committing to writing out your goals and updating the status daily, weekly, or monthly. Whatever system works for you, the toughest person you will ever have to answer to you is yourself. So, hold yourself accountable to what you want to accomplish to improve your odds of getting it done.
Do not Settle: A critical mindset to adopt is to evaluate and edit everything. The “first draft” of anything is called that for a reason. The “final draft” requires precision, thought, second guessing and reworking. Do not settle for anything less than the best that you can give. That often means putting the work in to make the “final draft” of whatever project or goal you are working on the best representation of who you are. In other words, avoid completing things for the sake of completion and commit to making sure everything associated with you meets the highest standards possible.
Dream Big: Starting out small and taking incremental steps to success is the best way to achieve success in my opinion. But dream big. Do not limit yourself by a fear of rejection or being let down – put yourself, your idea, your work out there on a grand scale when you are ready. To be noticed in this world, you must let go of your inhibitions. The positive impact you can make in your company and on others is greater than you can imagine if you allow yourself to think and dream big.
Help Others Succeed: Let your default action this year be helping others to elevate in their careers. Share your knowledge, time, compassion, successes with people who appreciate and need it. You will receive more in return than you will ever give, and it will take your sense of purpose and the quality of your relationships to the next level.
Have a healthy new year filled with much success and peace of mind!