Welcome 2013!
Time to Set Your New Years Resolutions
For years, I’ve used some portion of each December to think about and plan for my new year. Like many people who establish resolutions, I find that some of my best plans change very little year after year. I always seek to boost my business’s revenues, and it seems that I always want to lose weight.
If you’re still setting your own goals for the New Year, consider these:
Be fully present. The more wired our world has become, the easier it is to have our attention distracted by a vibrating smart phone or a chiming laptop announcing the arrival of a new email or text. I know all too well the importance of responding promptly to critical messages. Increasingly, however, I am also aware of the need to turn off my electronic gadgets and give others my full and undivided attention. In 2013, whenever we’re interacting with others, let’s commit to being fully present. That means a little less multi-tasking and a lot more focusing. But committing to being fully present will surely enhance our relationships.
Act like a mediator. In both our personal and professional lives, as long as we have “an iron in the fire,” we see issues, problems and disagreements from our perspective and our perspective alone. We’re me-centered—something that is perfectly natural, but not particularly helpful, especially if problems, issues and disagreements are to be resolved. A mediator works to understand all of the factors and perspectives that have contributed to a particular dispute, and they do so without judging intent. To the extent we can act like a mediator in 2013, we may be able to preserve and enhance those relationships that matter to us most.
Listen. An ancient Greek observed that we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Let’s resolve to do just that in 2013: Listen, and I mean listen carefully. Give others your undivided attention. Ask questions that explore the meaning and feelings behind certain words. Define points of agreement and disagreement. Recognize that we can’t and won’t agree with others about everything. But careful listening will help us find points of commonality.
Rejoice in your own complexity. Every day, I try to fit in some type of exercise, and because I’m not a music person, I use my time swimming laps or running miles as thinking time. Often, I’ll end up tackling a whole series of very personal questions: Am I a good person? Am I a good sister, aunt and niece? Am I a good manager? Am I a good service provider? Am I capable of accomplishing my hopes and dreams? Am I complete failure? In 2013, let’s accept that we are extremely complex people. We manage to tackle some of the challenges life throws at us with ease, while we struggle with others. We’re neither all good nor all bad. We need to constantly work to becoming just a little better.
What Do You Need to Know?
Successful professionals set goals, call the New Years Resolutions if you must.
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