I hope the social media stars have aligned and the Google, Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn algorithms have come together to result in your eyes actually finding their way to my words today so I may take a few minutes to reflect on an amazing couple of years and thank you for the role you may have played in making them so.
You hear quite often that a door doesn’t close without a window being opened and for me that has really proven to be the case many times in my life, especially over the past two years. While at times, I’ve had to break that window to get it open, or crawl through it just in the nick of time, it still doesn’t change the fact the grass has truly been greener on the other side of that window.
First and foremost, whether you and I spent a lot of time working together at some point in the past couple years, or just had a few passing greetings in person or through electronic means, let me say that I am thankful to have had that time with you. While some interactions obviously have more impact on one’s life - like a recruiter forwarding on your resume, a friend giving you a special thank you card, a loved one giving you some great advice, or parting ways with an employer or major client - I believe each interaction, whether seemingly positive or negative at first, ultimately has a positive impact on the course of our lives in the end.
While I wonder sometimes if my optimism is real, or if I just fabricate it following life’s events and interactions, ultimately, I believe the true nature of the event or interaction is trumped completely by my perception of it in the end. I truly believe how we perceive and approach life’s triumphs and challenges is entirely up to us.
But, that being said, when I take stock of life today and compare it to where I was two years ago, or one year ago, and discover I am better off, there is little more I can do than be thankful for each event and interaction, whether seemingly positive or negative at the time, because those events and interactions are what led to the positive outcome I am experiencing today.
So, whether you were one of the events or interactions that seemed positive, or negative, at the time, I thank you for the part you played in landing me where I am in life today, and wish you the very best in the coming year...
Photo by Christopher Jayanta via Pixabay
That was an amazing year! There really is no other way to put it. I don’t mean to talk about the hot butter on my breakfast toast by any means, but I am truly hoping that each of you had the same fantastic 2014 that I did and are also looking at an even better 2015.
I know that each of us take moments in time to take stock – for some it is a day like December 31st or January 1st, for some it is a birthday, or an anniversary of some sort. While each new day can always bring new possibilities, we all know that these moments in time – these milestones – somehow make it easier or more poignant to reflect, take stock, and hopefully, prepare an action plan.
I, for one, am very thankful for this particular part of our human nature, though I will be the first to admit that there have been times when at these moments of taking stock I have not been better off, or necessarily happier, or maybe even better off financially than I was at the previous moment of taking stock. But, I will say this – I have definitely not let too many of these moments of taking stock pass me by without at least trying to make some type of change. I encourage each of you to do the same. By regularly reflecting and taking action, you will find that over time, you’re going to be happier and better off in so many ways.
While you can read the titles on my LinkedIn profile and clearly see that I don’t consider myself a life coach or a Tony Robbins of any sort, I do know that some of my greatest successes in life have come from simply observing and learning the course of action that others in a similar situation have taken, or not taken. For that reason alone, coupled with the fact that I know a large number of you are using today and tomorrow to take stock, I thought I’d share my method of reflection with you. There is nothing groundbreaking, nothing that you don’t already know yourself, but sometimes seeing it in writing can really help you get started. And, if I can humbly be a part of any positive change in anyone’s life by simply sharing my experiences, then I feel I am using my talents for good.
So, to break it down, there are only three steps: Choose your moments of reflection, take stock, then do something about it.
You can choose moments that occur annually on the calendar, such as your birthday, your wedding anniversary, etc., but I recommend that you conduct this reflection more often than just once a year. Maybe choose the first of every month, or the first Monday of every month, or find some reoccurring event in your life that can act as a great point in time for you to reflect.
Every six weeks, I get my haircut - like clockwork, every six weeks. My appointments are scheduled three deep and no matter what happens in the world and in my life, I know that if I’m still able to get out of bed in the morning and I’m still conscious, I am going to need a haircut. This makes it very easy for me to take a quick moment while I’m driving to my haircut, while I’m sitting in the chair, or at any time that day, really, to take a look at where I am and determine if I am better off that day than I was during my previous haircut. Find your haircut – find your regular rhythm with some regular event in your life and at every interval, you have a perfect opportunity to remember to reflect, take stock and then, take action.
Once you’ve chosen your moment, then every time it rolls around, you can take stock of the relationships in your personal life, the relationships in your professional life (including your job or your business), the relationship you have with your finances, or any other relationship in your life that needs attention. If you’re on the right track, this might not take long. It could be just a few moments of reflection to know that you’re in a better job than you were last year, or that there is more money in the bank this year than last year, or that there is less debt weighing you down than last year, or that you are closer and not more distant from the loved ones in your life. Granted, you may find yourself in a spot where some of these reflections are not going to be just a quick moment, but might take some actual in-depth thought and analysis. Either way, make sure that you take the time that you need to sort through what needs to be sorted out.
Lastly, once you’ve reflected, it is time for you to actually do something about it. Hopefully, you will find yourself in a spot where all you need to do is keep doing what you’re doing. Hopefully, you can just stay the course because everything is going great and you find yourself better off than you were at the previous moment of reflection, and hopefully, a number of consecutive previous reflection moments as well. But, if you don’t find yourself better off in any way, it is the perfect time for you to do something about it. It is as simple as creating a plan and then following through with it.
While it may take you a little while to get in the groove of conducting these regular reflections on your relationships, your career, and your finances, I can only suggest that you give it a try and see how it works out for you because those haircut moments have worked wonders for me.
Photo by David Mark via Pixabay
I hope that I am one of the first to welcome you to 2011, a year that I think most of us are hoping is going to truly be the best year for all of us, at least in the past few years. For me, there is no room to complain about 2010, or 2009, or 2008, or 2007, and so on, really, but believe me when I say that I feel and agree with your sentimental optimism, America, in hoping that we all have a fantastic 2011.
If you’re working right now, then I hope you find yourself still working on 1/1/2012, and all of the days in-between. If you’re looking for work, I really hope this is the year that you find it – that you remember 2011 as the year that turned it all around. I think I can speak with confidence when I say that anyone I know that can have a hand in keeping the economy going, creating jobs, and getting us back on track, is going to continue working just as hard to make that happen this year as they were back in that dreaded year of yesteryear, 2010.
While not all of us had a particularly bad 2010, I know that the general sentiment about the year is that most people are happy to see it gone. I also tend to join in that point of view, if no reason other than I am hoping we see an even better 2011 for all of us.
For me, the trying years were 2004, 2005, and 2006, but again, looking back from where I sit today, there is truly no room for me to complain about those years. Good things still happened in those years, and I think even in the most trying of years for us, we can still find some good things. 2011, for me, is marking the year in which I stop reflecting back upon those trying years (other than to learn their lessons) and second-guessing what I could have done to change them, and instead, look forward to the milestones of the coming year.
2011 will see this missive turn 10 years old. How amazing is that? 2011 will mark the ever-lucky 13th year since I met my beautiful wife. 2011 marks the 23rd year that I will spend with some of my dearest friends. 2011 will mark the 26th year I am somebody’s older brother, the 6th year that someone will be calling me “Uncle” and the 4th year someone will be calling me “Nino”. That’s “Godfather” to you non-Spanish-speakers like me, and to people with Italian last names, it’s kind of a big deal.
While we all have to be mindful of our past, I think the lesson to take from the death of 2010, and to a lesser extent, from each New Year’s Day, is that this particular day really marks a time in which we need to turn our sights away from the past and look to the future. New Year’s Day marks a time to begin anew – to refresh our life-long goals and set an even stronger course than we pursued the year before. I hope that you will all join me in using today to do just that.
