In 2017, I recommend a paradigm shift…
The year begins. Promises, ideas, dreams. A lot of people will promise a lot that they certainly will not keep up to it. People will plan things they won’t do. What to do then?
Before discussing in detail, how to harness the strength of new year’s give that boost to one’s career? And how manage promises debt? By paradigm change.
The Gap – New Year / New Year
Sense of Realization
One of the most motivating elements valued by people is the sense of accomplishment. Sense of accomplishment comes from the impression that the results bring to the sense of usefulness.
All people I know like to be useful. To be useful, to understand that things you do to others have meaning to you through achieved result for others. People do want to do something useful in their lives and they want to get things done. As all people like to be first useful for themselves, getting year’s end worse or even the same as in the beginning of the same year is quite demotivating.
The results are so valued that many people get away from what is right, many might run over their own principles to get such results. It is precisely this attachment to results that leads to the famous promises of year’s end.
The Year-End Promise Cycle
In the year’s end, people carry debts of non-achievements that stresses and discourages them. The holidays come, meetings and parties with loved ones, some rest. Renewed, the year begins and motivation is at its peak. When, motivated, one promises. Such promises are expectations of results to be achieved. Expectations that, throughout the year, get frustrated. Some for noble reasons, others for external reasons. New year’s end: reality is far from expectation.
In the year to come, people carry a liability of non-attainment that distresses and discourages them. Come the holidays, revisit yourself dear ones, rest. Renewed, the year begins and the motivation rises. Then, motivated, one promises. Such promises are expectations…
Sounded repetitive? Yeah, it’s cyclical. Then, the memes begin. “You’ll have 365 chances to work your dreams out.”
The Main Element
Who is the main element of your life? You. With thoughts and ideas. You manifest what you are by your actions. And not so much by the results that you get. Curiously, people promise results but do not think about changing actions.
For example, attitudes at work define you more as a professional than your salary. Good compensation with little work or low payment with accepting it, for example, are attitudes that define the individual.
Breaking the Cycle
In 2017, end all the promises of 2016. I’ll explain. It’s a bit of behavioral therapy.The best thing from year to year is to finish the pending, instead of increasing the list. That business you wanted to open, would not it be time to start plotting to quit your job and make it happen? That economy, how about starting to save some money? Lose weight? How about avoiding beer at happy hour or start cutting fried food?
Make as your main goals for 2017 finish what was pending in 2016. Even better, you can conclude that such promises should not be made with a target. Why? To end the mania of measuring yourself by the result without observing the attitudes.
When starting with small actions, one generates small paradigm shift… From the paradigm of results to the evaluation and quality of execution. Therefore, it is the paradigm that must change…
Paradigm change
How about changing actions, instead of hammering yourself down with results? Instead of promising to lose weight, how about promising to avoid eating crap food? Instead of promising to “going after a promotion,” why not try to be a better professional? Save an defined amount of money? Promise to spend less on junk stuff!
Well, I commented in the article on career in times of crisis that building “savings” of good results leads a person to have some work stability. Stability by results. The same goes with attitudes. It is a sum of small positive actions that will lead someone to change their reality.
On this one I agree with the pragmatists: only actions change a reality.
So in 2017 …
I will say only one thing: put intelligence into everything you do. If you are reading this article, my only wish is that in 2017 you have the strength to be that person you wish to be, by putting intelligence on everything, from the time you wake up, even in the time you tie your shoes.
Your results, honestly, are of no interest to anyone. Neither to yourself: they are mere consequences of your attitudes. These should be your focus.
