01.03.2008
Resolutions to make in 2008
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Now that you’ve watched the ball drop on TV, swept confetti out of your living room and argued with your significant other for the umpteenth time about whether champagne flutes can be cleaned in the dishwasher, it is time to get down to the serious work of New Year’s.
It is time to think about your resolutions for 2008.
We’re sure many people will resolve to lose weight and exercise more. Others will resolve to fight less with their significant others about dishwater-related issues.
If you’re hoping 2008 will be a big year for career, consider adding some of the following resolutions to your list:
RESOLVE TO FILL IN THE BLANK: Complete the following: I’d be successful a year from now if ------------.
“Once that sentence is there and you’ve filled it in, amazing things start to happen,” says Patrick Sweeney, co-author of “Succeed on Your Own Terms” and executive vice president of Caliper, a management consulting firm in Princeton, N.J.
Sweeney says each person should decide what success means for him- or herself, instead of deferring to inertia or other people’s expectations. Write down your definition, keep it with you all the time, and share it with people you trust, Sweeney says. “Once you start talking to people about it, amazing things start to happen,” he re-emphasizes.
RESOLVE TO MAKE A GREATEST HITS ALBUM: Keep a success journal and update it frequently, says Ellen Schuster-Nastir, a Tampa life coach and training expert. You’ll want to refer to this journal before taking on a challenge that seems frightening or daunting.
“These don’t have to be momentous occasions,” she said. “The journal should help remind you of what your successes are, and you can also use it to pump yourself when you’re going into a scary situation.”
RESOLVE TO COMMUNICATE BETTER: Don’t just talk to other people at work. Talk with them.
You’ll be much more efficient if you make the effort to make a connection with clients and co-workers, advises Mark Wiskup, a Tampa communications coach and author.
“If you work harder at your communications, you’ll get things done right the first time,” he said. “Others will figure out what you want faster, and you’ll figure out what they want faster. In the long run, it will save you time and energy.”
RESOLVE TO SELL YOURSELF: Don’t just rely on your sparkling personality to help you land your next job or promotion.
Jaynie L. Smith, author of “Creating Competitive Advantage,” says you should identify your strengths as a worker and maintain a list of all your quantifiable successes - such as your sales records or the projects that were completed under budget or before deadline.
Then when you’re competing against lots of people with sparkling personalities for a job, “you’ll have your own list of competitive advantages,” Smith said.
RESOLVE TO SET YOUR OWN AGENDA: Every morning, before you get out of bed, set an intention for the day, Schuster-Nastir advises. Set goals that are meaningful and achievable.
“For example, you might say to yourself, ‘My intention is to listen carefully and chose to respond rather than react,’ or ‘I’m going to accomplish the first four things on my to-do list,’” she says. “It will help give you greater clarity and focus, which helps you be more productive.”
RESOLVE TO RUMINATE: You shouldn’t focus on your career without also making time to focus on yourself.
“For the most part, people are looking for quick fixes and things to better themselves,” says Matthew Eriksen, an associate professor of leadership at the University of Tampa’s Sykes College of Business.
“You really need to practice self-reflection, to be self-aware. What people really have to do is to get to know themselves.”
Make contemplation a regular practice, not just a one-time thing, if you want to steer your career in positive directions, he said.
RESOLVE TO PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS: Some people are resilient. Some are persuasive. Some are optimistic.
Once you’ve identified your defining trait - remember, it’s a quality, not a skill - “turn up the volume on it,” advises Caliper’s Patrick Sweeney.
Seek out jobs, projects and situations that will allow you to really shine because they’ll let you take advantage of that quality, he said.
RESOLVE TO SAY MORE ENCOURAGING THINGS TO YOURSELF: Schuster-Nastir, the life coach, says people tend to absorb negative messages from their parents, relatives, teachers, peers, bosses and friends, and they sometimes repeat these messages in their heads without thinking about it.
Instead, we should be giving ourselves positive messages and affirmations, she says.
“We all get in the rut of negative self-talk - that’s just human nature,” she says.
Counteract those thoughts by conjuring up your own short, empowering statements and saying them over and over in your head.