It’s been 47 years since I entered into the world of work. Initially I delivered carpets and beds in my home town of Stockton-On-Tees followed by two careers; one of which I am still striving to achieve and develop myself within. I want to be better than I was the previous year, to be more and do more, for the people I support and my family.
So at the start of each year, instead of making resolutions (who keeps those?), I make commitments; the very word means that you are going to commit to a course of action (there is no going back!)
In the days leading up to the New Year I put down ‘on paper’ what I intend to do this year and I couldn’t help but wonder if this is something that might help you- to have your best year too.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity” Amelia Earhart
In 2019 believe in yourself:
- If you make mistakes (no one is perfect) accept that you will make them, learn from them and keep going. “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement” C S Lewis
- Don’t second guess yourself. You can only make the best judgement at the time with the facts in front of you; but do make a decision (nobody likes a ditherer)
- It is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. Back yourself to do the right thing and do it now. (Nobody likes a procrastinator).
- No matter how busy you are or how much pressure you are under during your day, do one thing which you enjoy.
- Book yourself a coaching or mentoring session with your coach or mentor. Talk through your dreams and aspirations (try and fix up one of these meetings bi-monthly)
- Record your successes and read them through before you start your new week.
- When you are facing a crisis and are coming under pressure, tell yourself two things: One. Have faced this before? How did I deal with it then? And Two. In 6 months’ time will this situation be such a big deal? Probably not.
- Reward yourself. Something I picked up from running – if I had a good race I rewarded myself. It could have been a new pair of running socks or an energy bar, it doesn’t have to be much, but it can make you feel a whole lot better. Give yourself a pat on the back.
- Laugh whenever you can – it is cheap medicine
- Regularly (daily is best) go for a walk. Take a break- you only need to find 30 minutes in your day. It will refresh you and it will give you the time to think.
My 5 commitments for 2019:
- Physical exercise: Train twice a day: Make time to go for a run – 5 x sessions a week. Each morning do core strength training (sit-ups and press ups etc.). A programme that is: ‘viable and sustainable’ that focuses on quality not quantity.
- Objectives. Set myself 5 objectives (personal and work) to achieve before 11am (‘5 before 11’). That’s at least 35 achievements each week!
- Continued Professional Development (CPD) this year I am going to:
- Watch five x leadership and or inspirational presentations from Ted.com or YouTube per month
- Listen to at least one management CD per car journey
- Read at least 2 articles/essays from one of my management magazines per month
- Take in at least one Webinar on a bi-monthly basis
- (for the company I work for) Arrange a training session/workshop for the Dosh Team a quarter which I will take in
- Publish a monthly leadership pack and a quarterly Dosh Newsletter
- Deliver a leadership workshop or presentation in 2019 which will require me to research and prepare for.
- Deliver at least four Money Awareness Workshops for Managers and deliver similar workshops for people with a learning disability and their families
- Deliver on a Project Management Methodology for my parent organisation http://www.thera.co.uk
- Meet with my Mentees at least six times in 2018
- Health and Well Being. This year I am going to:
- Improve my sleep patterns – working towards getting at least seven hours sleep every night. (so no cups of tea for me after 7pm)
- Drink at least one bottle of water every day
- Stand up more instead of sitting down – especially when using my laptop
- Practice balancing on one leg at a time at least once a day (I got that one from Joyce)
- Practice Mindfulness at least once a day (I have learned this from Bettina)
- Cut down on sugar (at least 25% this year) – cutting down on chocolate will help me with this one
- Loose 10lbs in weight (according to my running magazines this will knock 1.5 minutes of my 5KM time!)
- Eliminate Waste. Look at every part of my professional and personal life and eliminate waste – what am I wasting time on? What am I duplicating? What savings (financially) can I make that will not affect my performance and the difference I want to make in other people’s lives?
And not to forget to live my life well https://leadershipintheraw.org/2016/09/26/living-your-life-well/
Courtesy of Dosh Ltd http://www.dosh.org
This was my ‘Big 5’in 2018 – I am going to stick with them again:
Smarter
Efficient
Up-to-date
Streamlined
Responsive
And I am going to add an additional Big 5 for 2019:
Innovative
Dependable and Reliable
Passionate
Committed
Energetic
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant” Robert L Stevenson
“Expect the best, plan for the worst & prepare to be surprised” Denis Waitley
In 2019 I will take a step back and think about what I have in my life and be grateful for everything that comes my way. Wake up in gratitude every morning.
If it happens to be a failure I will see it as my first and second step towards my next success. I will understand that failure is not permanent and neither is success, so I will prepare for both this year https://leadershipintheraw.org/2014/08/11/fail-and-fail-big/. On 31 December 2019 I am going to read this again to see how I got on before I make a new set of commitments for 2020. Why? Because I want 2020 to be my best year yet!
“If you woke up this morning in a nice warm bed, if all your loved ones are safe and happy and you have food/water – why wouldn’t you be grateful?” Joyce Raw
Leadership in the Raw 