RESOLUTION: MAKE YOURSELF BETTER

#NewYearsResolutions #ABetterYou #HelpingOthers
In the upcoming year, live a life with purpose.
“Put simply, your talk might not match your walk, You will applaud giveaways for the wealthy while casting services for the poor as socialism. You will proclaim your love for your neighbor while refusing to give up your right not to wear a mask, the one thing that can protect them from the coronavirus. And you will consistently seek your own while refusing to help those in need.”
That quote comes from Gracie Bonds Staples, from her Jan. 7, 2021, “This Life” column in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
To paraphrase her, helping others gives you purpose.
There are many ways to help others — some obvious, some not so much.
There are little things you can do that take no skin off your back.
Holding the door for someone, letting a struggling person move ahead of you in line etc.
Other ways include helping others in physical or financial distress, or volunteering your time toward a worthy cause. They involve effort or sacrifice.
What if you could find a way to help others that also helps you?
There are many programs out there that allow you to advance yourself only by helping others.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
So, the message is to plan a new year in which you will do for others more than you will do for you.
If you do that, the blessings you’ll receive will be tangible.
Good people give and get. Lesser folks only take.
“Research shows a strong sense of purpose is associated with slower development of age-related disabilities, reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, improved cognitive health and longer lives,” Staples writes. “Finding purpose can promote energy, satisfaction and preventive health behaviors,” she writes.
Purpose gives you prosperity in many different ways. It will change the way you look at things, open your mind and introduce you to things that could change your life.
Learn and strive to find purpose this year.
Peter

HOW OTHERS SEE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

#NewYearsResolutions #SuccessAtWork #WorkBetter
What do you want to do to make your life better in the new year?
Sure, most of us want to lose weight, but, if you are like most, you say that every year and it doesn’t happen. A few disciplined folks reach their weight goals, or come close, and should be congratulated.
Rex Huppke, who writes for the Chicago Tribune, has a great New Year’s tradition. He turns his column over to some wise folks he has met and interviewed in the past year, and lets them share their thoughts and advice about the workplace. His column was published in the Jan. 3, 2016, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sharon Salzberg, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and author of “Real Happiness at Work,” says we often fixate on unrealistic goals – resolutions – that prioritize perfectionism over self-forgiveness. Because of the stress in a normal workplace, she recommends setting goals that compassionately acknowledge the ups and downs of the journey toward our goal, Huppke’s columns says.
In other words, give yourself a break. We can’t predict what will happen in the next few minutes in the workplace, never mind over the next year. Priorities change. Duties change. Bosses change. Salzberg suggests cultivating positive intentions. Do what you can to roll with the situations, and contribute what you can to make whatever happens as smooth and successful as possible.
Meanwhile, Heidi Grant Halvorson, psychologist and author of “No One Understands You and What to Do About it,” says you don’t have a clue what others really think of you. But, research has shown that others don’t think of you the way the way you think of yourself.
She recommends learning how you come across by asking some whom you know well. It may be the first step toward having people “get” you.
Avraham Kluger, professor of organizational behavior at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, suggests learning how to be a better listener, and describes how to do that. Practice on folks to whom you might not want to listen to, and let that person know you are practicing your listening skills. (You don’t have to tell them that you don’t like listening to them).
Other experts have suggested that you become more likeable if you listen more, and talk less.
Huppke lists several other ideas from experts on how to make 2016 as good as it can be for you in the workplace. Whatever your job, know that it is up to you to make your time in the workplace as pleasant, as meaningful and, yes, as productive as possible.
In years past, workers cared only about getting their hours in, with little regard for what they did in those hours. In today’s workplace, marking time by itself won’t cut it. Even if you see others doing it, don’t believe that you will get away with it. Today’s jobs are fluid, and fleeting. They change on a dime. Workers either have to adapt, or leave.
Of course, if your time at work is giving you little or no reward, financial or otherwise, there are many other ways to earn money outside of that job. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You may see something a bit out of your comfort zone, but success is almost never created from comfort.
If you like your job, and find it fruitful and fulfilling for YOU, you are very fortunate. Still, never presume it will last as long as you want it to. Always have a Plan B in mind in case the worst happens. It’s unlikely that if the worst happens, you will know it in advance. It often comes as a shock.
So try to become a better person at work this year. You may find fulfillment you’d never imagined. You may find success you thought was never possible. You might even find something other than money that gets your juices flowing.
Have a happy 2016 with whatever you decide to work on.
Peter

TIME, DISCIPLINE AND RESOLUTIONS

#newyearsresolutions #time #discipline
Why do so many of us abandon our new year’s resolutions?
Rory Vaden, cofounder of Southwestern Consulting and a self-discipline strategist and speaker, says it may not just be a lack of self-discipline. It may be a lack of time.
Vaden discussed the topic in a Jan. 11, 2015, column in The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.
It’s easier to get to the gym when your house is clean and your bills are in order, he says. It’s easier to eat healthy when you don’t feel so rushed you have to cram some fast food down in 20 minutes, Vaden points out.
So let’s tackle time, or lack of it, that most say is their biggest problem in life.
Time is choice. Sure, most of us MUST go to work. Those who have children MUST tend to their needs etc. Oh, and we MUST sleep – or at least most of us do.
But there are many other hours in which we do things that are not MUSTS. There may even be some hours we do things we believe are musts, but may not be.
Some of us take time doing things, then ask ourselves, why did I waste my time doing that?
Some of us decide that we can’t do something that may be good for us, because we don’t have time. Others make time to do something good for themselves.
Vaden believes that if you want to achieve your goals in 2015, you have to intentionally decide what you won’t do that has taken up your time.
In short, resolutions require a time commitment. You have to determine whether what you spend your time on is worth your time, or could your time be spent doing something better for you.
Let’s take the food example. If you are wolfing down fast food at lunch because your boss gives you no time for lunch, try bringing healthy food to work with you. You’ll eat better and save money. If cleaning your house takes up too much of your time, there’s the option of hiring someone to do it. Chances are, that person can clean your house much more quickly than you, because he or she cleans houses for a living and has the process down to a science.
How can you hire a housekeeper when you are barely getting by yourself? There are many ways to pick up extra income, often without interfering with what you are doing now. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You might not only find a way to pay your housekeeper, but also you will be using your time more productively.
Often, those who use their time most wisely have cultivated the ability to say, NO! Sometimes we are backed into a corner and say yes when we want to say no. Perhaps the person whose feelings you don’t want to hurt would rather hear no, than a reluctant yes.
Vaden also talks about procrastination vs. patience. Sometimes, waiting for a better time to do something can be a virtue. Putting off things you should do kills success, he says.
So, if you haven’t already, make those resolutions: Live healthier. Know what to do to prosper, and do what you must to make it happen. If you are unsure about the latter, be open to looking for the answer, and recognize it when you see it. Your patience could pay off.
Peter