Good Time for Introspection

As we get closer to the New Year, many people are thinking about New Year's resolutions.

The problem with New Year's resolutions is that they often fail. We set our minds to a goal and often set ourselves up for failure. 

Let's look at one example. We make a resolution to lose weight. We sign up for a gym membership and start a diet.

We start going to the gym religiously. Unfortunately, after a few weeks, we get tired of fighting the gym crowd (it is packed with all the other resolution makers) and decide to take a day off. That turns into a week, and eventually we stop going altogether. The same can happen to that expensive piece of exercise equipment we bought for Christmas. Eventually it becomes an expensive coat rack.

Then there's the diet. We pick a diet and totally change our normal eating habits. We deprive ourselves of what we normally eat and eventually get sick and tired of the diet and regress back to our old eating habits.

We set ourselves up for failure because we made extreme changes that were difficult to maintain.

Instead, we should take some time for some introspection and figure out what we can realistically do to improve our situation. Are we eating fast food all the time? Maybe we can cut back a little and make some healthier meals at home. Maybe we could start walking a little bit each day. As we get accustomed to these small changes, it becomes easier to make additional ones. Before we know it, we are on the road to long-lasting success.

The same goes with our professional lives. Are there areas at work we can improve int? Small changes can make a difference. Maybe we want to sharpen our soft skills. If we were to try to be more empathetic, communicate better, delegate more, become better time managers and take on more responsibilities all at once it could easily become overwhelming. In addition, our coworkers could think we've lost our marbles.

Instead, we should consider the little things we can do to improve each day. Continuous small steps towards personal improvement can lead to big changes.

So, my New Year's resolution for 2018 is to NOT make a resolution. Instead, I want to focus on the small things that I can improve on throughout the year.

What about you?

Thanks for reading, and we appreciate your feedback!

Joe