Forgive me, I love transitioning from the old year to the new. Though I eschew the resolution thing, I have a few cherished annual rituals: choosing my year’s theme, identifying my 365-day personal project, creating personal and professional key results areas, and making a list of behavioral reminders that pull it all together.
The theme and 365-day project are featured in my two previous posts, and now I get to highlight this list of reminders borrowed from the Seasonal Advice section of my Why Is Everyone So Cranky? site, adding a few comments for your reading pleasure. Maybe you’ll appreciate these reminders enough to write your own list or experiment with what’s here.
1. Live consciously. Be aware of what you’re doing and why (it never hurts to be mindful of both behavior and intent).
2. Laugh more (it’s your best stress management tool and a full-function cleansing tonic; think “free mental spa”).
3. Love more fully in word and deed (offer an extra moment or two of full attention, eye contact, and empathy; you get the point).
4. Lift the spirits of others by keeping your attitude, heart, and spirit light (think levity, think buoyancy).
5. Let go of the fears, insecurities, or self-doubts that limit your potential (dump that mental baggage you’ve been dragging around for way too long).
6. Learn something brand new this year (be inclined to say “yes” instead of “no” so you can stretch your skills and use your imagination).
7. Loosen up and let yourself have more fun (you’ll enjoy life and work more and the best part; people will enjoy you more).
8. Lean on others when you need. By asking for support you allow others to give (’tis easier to give than receive; the latter is a form of true generosity).
9. Lead by example at work, at home, and in between (you know this one; whatever you do out-shouts anything you say).
10. Loiter more. Slow up, relax, and take your time (cultivate the art of slowing up and showing up instead of hurrying and worrying).
From Henry David Thoreau: “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
Simple Action: Remind yourself over and over again that life-enriching acts are simple. The complexity is in repeating those acts over and over again until they become ingrained.
