by Joan Marques Right around each turn of year I get captured in these moods of evaluations, analysis and reflection. You too? It’s when you feel the need to look back, wondering how you should perceive the way your life has been running up till now. Was it successful? More important: was it successful to your own criteria? “What was really good and where did I lose it?” And then the good resolutions start peeking around the corner. I don’t even have to state here that huge, unrealistic goals are the best way to get precisely nothing resolved, simply because they discourage you, if only through their degree of difficulty to get them accomplished. The a-b-c of setting goals is: reach-ability. Baby-steps. Goals that you attain easily, that give you an energy-boost to shoot for the next level, because you can see the results! That goes for everything: the CEO’s of even the most impressive mammoth organizations know it, and we all should know it as well from our day-to-day operations. It may be even more important to recognize and, where necessary, polish or sharpen the positive characteristics you can find within yourself. Are you, for instance, someone who always thinks for yourself and doesn’t judge others from hearsay? Now there’s one element to burnish! Because with this ability, you are a rarity in almost every society. Are you someone that perceives the progress of a friend, acquaintance or neighbor, as an inspiration for yourself to also get ahead, be it in your own area of specialty? Then you’re another scarcity! In that case, too, you really should polish this attribute as if it were a diamond. After all, how many of those you know don’t try to break others that are making an attempt to get ahead, by spreading the nastiest rumors about them, judging their actions, or just chasing themselves into debt just so to start a rat-race? And what is the essence of doing that? Couldn’t they, just like you, see the progress of another as a stimulant for themselves? Something like, “Wow! If he or she can do that, there must be a way for me to get there as well! What am I good at? What can I do to improve myself?” Another positive quality that you should definitely sharpen if you find it within yourself is, living according to your own standards and not those of others. You see, getting enthused by the improvements of others is great, as long as it doesn’t become an obsession. But if you set your own standards, you are not just one diamond; you are a whole necklace of diamonds! Because then you have discovered the secret of inner-peace and serenity. That’s when you won’t get yourself pushed anymore by what others say, think, or do. And you have all the previously mentioned characteristics united in one beautiful trait: 1) You don’t participate in spreading rumors about others because you want to determine the truth for yourself, and 2) You are happy for everybody that makes any kind of progress, however they may choose to do that. Voila! The key to a serene 2002! Finally, what may absolutely be wise for every person to do—and I have been walking around with this myself for some days now—is to ask yourself, “If there is one thing in my life, work, or relationship that I would want to change, what would that be?” This question may require some deep digging inside for some of us if we want to obtain an honest answer, but once formulated, the direction for the future is set: working on the realization of it! Happy New Year!
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Credit:
Burbank, California; December 19, 2001; Joan Marques, MBA, Doctoral Student (URL: http://www.angelfire.com/id/joanmarques/PR) Reprint of this article does not constitute an endorsement by the National Business Association; the article is for informational purposes for our members and viewers of our Web site. |
