As we rapidly approach a new year, we are all reflecting on the past and our goals for the future.
Many thoughts and questions come to mind.
How can you be more efficient? How can you save time on a task to save more time and money? What do I have to do to get that nice new car? What do you need to do to look better or lose more weight?
How can you improve your relationships and make your spouse love you more? How can you be more like the Jones family on the street who seem to get their act together?
We are all guilty of judging our own success by comparing ourselves to others. Friends, there is not a single person better than you as a human being if you are not hurting people, or involved in criminal activity and doing the best you can at what you do.
The most important goals we can set for ourselves are those that help us achieve satisfaction with life.
Take time, as you write down your resolutions for the new year, to see if the following thoughts fit into your game plan for the coming year.
1. Visualize how you want your life to be – Take time every day to relax and think about what you want. Visualize how you see yourself. What you do, what you wear, who you hang out with. Change the way you dress if it makes you feel better about yourself. See yourself as someone with endless energy and ready to take on the world or at least his next task. Feel good about yourself.
2. Learn something new every day– keep reading, researching and brainstorming. Just reading something of interest can turn on a light that gives you an idea or an answer to a problem you’ve been considering.
3. Interact with positive people– if your friends are negative, they will tear you down. There are people who find something wrong with any experience or idea that comes their way. These people may be members of your own family. Make it a point to network and make friends with positive people who have similar interests to yours. Those are the people who will keep you motivated when things don’t seem to go as planned.
4. enjoy the simple things– Take time to enjoy the things you like to do. What kind of life is it to focus only on what you think others expect of you. Take time to smell the roses.
5. Laugh a lot– this is the cheapest and safest form of therapy anyone can have. Laughing helps you forget your problems, reduces stress and stimulates the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers.
6. Make exercise part of your life– If you don’t focus and take care of yourself, what use will you serve others? Exercising lowers stress, helps clear mental cloudiness, relaxes you, improves your morale, and helps you be more productive. You will enjoy life, your work, it will be more pleasant to be around and you will increase your chances of living a longer and healthier life.
7. Staying healthy– you should educate yourself on what is considered optimal health as a lifelong goal. Take the time to learn what your ideal weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol should be. Learn and understand what disease you may be at risk based on your lifestyle, family history, and habits. You may think that this is your doctor’s problem, but in reality you are ultimately responsible for your own health. The most important thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones is to do your part to understand your health so you can live a longer, more productive life. If there are health issues that need to be addressed, address one at a time, unless it’s something life threatening.
8. be happy– If you are unhappy you must look within to determine what is keeping you in that state of mind. There’s no question that financial, health, relationship and other problems can weigh so heavily on you that it’s hard to see joy in any aspect of your life. Life and the problems that come with it can be overwhelming. If you’re having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, talk to someone about your problems. Sometimes just hearing another person’s perspective on something will improve your perspective and give you direction. Don’t hesitate to seek professional advice if things don’t seem to be changing. Some of the brightest and most successful people have a therapist who helps them keep things under control. Try to look inside yourself and find what you need to bring you happiness. Try to find within yourself what would make you happy if you could never change your current relationships, financial situation, or social status. I’m sure there are others who would agree that having more than enough money, the biggest house, the nicest car, etc. ultimately it does not bring more happiness. All of these things come with their own set of headaches. Financial security brings you more opportunities, but not true happiness. This is not meant to give you an excuse not to try to make changes, but to encourage you to look deeper for what you need in life to feel content and happy.
9. Manage your stress– we are all unique in the way we respond to stressful situations in life. You need to find ways to help relieve stress, even if you only allow yourself 5 minutes a day. Failure to manage your stress will have a negative impact on all aspects of your life. Offer to help someone, so they can take a break to relieve stress. They will most likely be happy to return the favor.
10 Take a break to worry– Constantly worrying about all the issues in life can paralyze you. It can lead to procrastination in all aspects of your life. If you are constantly worrying about things, take the time to write them all down. Then look at each one and determine if there is someone or something that can help eliminate that worry. Allowing another person to help you deal with overwhelming problems will allow you to focus on more important things in your life in a more productive way. It could be something as simple as letting someone else handle phone calls from collectors you avoid. It can be hard to do and takes some practice, but take 5-10 minutes a day to worry about the things on your mind. Then refocus on the most important task that will help you regain your joy. in your life
eleven teach something– we all have unique experiences, knowledge and wisdom that will benefit others. Keep learning and then pass it on. The best way to keep feeling young is to feel useful. Make it your goal, for the new year, to pass on something useful to someone who expresses an interest in your interest.
No matter what your game is, if you’re doing the best you can then that should be good enough. If you want to find fulfillment and happiness, you must not allow your satisfaction in life to revolve around how someone else lives or does things. If you make a living, take care of your family, and are a good parent, no one can or has the right to say that they are better than you.
If you’re not satisfied with your performance, look at how others are doing something similar to what you’re currently focusing your time on. Study your methods and then tweak your system until you feel like things are good enough. Watching and learning how others perform certain tasks or lead their lives does not make them a better person, they may simply be doing something similar differently or more efficiently.
This could apply to anyone. It doesn’t matter if your game is being a parent, teaching second grade, a doctor, a nurse, pumping gas, or running the most powerful country in the world. There will always be someone who does it a little better or differently than you. That makes them an opportunity for you to learn and hone your skills.
I speculate that future wealth will not be reflected in our checking account balance, but rather in the value we provide to others through networking and just being a good person.
No matter how small or incredible your goals for 2009, make it your mission to share something of value with others. Those things that you consider trivial may be just what it takes to change your world and the world of those around you.