On Resolutions, Having Dreams, and Building Your Best Year!
Sadly, statistics show that by this point in the year, the vast majority of us have already given-up, lapsed, or otherwise abandoned our New Year’s Resolutions. Given the failure rate, one can understandably be confused on why we continue the tradition. In some sense, it can be seen as similar to Daylight Savings Time; seemingly random days each year that arbitrarily agreed to switch our clocks. At New Years, we all arbitrarily agree to create new behaviors and goals for ourselves. At least with this tradition, there is a noble sentiment which keeps us coming back year after year. It is the desire to be more than we are. To be better than we are.
So, if you haven’t quit- Great Job and Keep Going! If you have- Great Job and Keep Going! Because at the end of the day, resolutions are only as good at the postmortem that we give them. Did I succeed in my goals? Why? Did I fail in my goals? Why? And in both cases, what can I do better next time?
“Job sites are part of your tactics, not strategy.”
In working with clients and candidates, it is sometimes this analysis (or lack thereof) that is a critical factor between the folks who move onto positions they genuinely want, rather than merely the opportunities that are more easily open to them at the time. In today’s digital job searches, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of repeating your mistakes without even knowing it. Worse yet, you can often feel like you are doing something radically different to improve your odds (“Oh, I just heard of this hot new job site that you should check out…”), when in fact you are still pursuing the same overall strategy but with slightly different tactics.
This is where our dreams factor in. Without those reachable and lofty goals in front of us (working in concert with our resolutions), it can seem like we are doing a lot of work for nothing. Most of us will either set dreams (and goals) that are either wildly unrealistic or bland and mundane. The former leads to becoming disheartened because as we do the day to day labor of moving towards the dream, it is always distant and far away from where we are currently. Our brains can often start to disconnect the two. The later will leave us uninspired because it is too easily achieved or not jarring enough to inspire us to action. Our brains will get lazy, perceiving that all goals should be so easily achieved. How then to strike the right balance?
Most of us are familiar with the term Giving it 110%. When you stop and think about it, this is exactly where we want out goals to be. Of course, we will always have larger dreams (the ones that will take years to achieve), but as you develop your plans for the rest of 2018, I recommend you use this saying as a guidepost. Have your goals feed into your dreams. Be honest with yourself about what giving 100% actually looks and feels like to you. Be prepared to push yourself and be realistic about how long you can engage at this level of intensity. For most of us, it is a surprisingly short amount of time. That’s is OK. To reach your goals, it most likely will take behavior modification. It might also take some social and entertainment adjustment. You now have in mind an idea of what going all out towards your goal will actually mean. Then think about that extra 10% that you can add to that goal. Is it more time? Is it better effort? Does it mean reaching out for help? Or can you set your goal 10% beyond what you originally thought?
By working through this process, we come to the other half of the equation- What do you need to leave behind? For many individuals, we get very comfortable telling our story to ourselves. Many times candidates will feel loath to remove past experiences or sections of their resumes, simply because it is a comfortable talking point for them (if they get an interview). Take a moment think about the parts of your own story that you tend to focus on the most. What is it about these experiences that have impacted you the most? Is there another way to see yourself and your story? Often the shortest route to achieving our resolutions and going after our dreams is to stop emphasizing some of our past failings and shortcomings or to think of the lessons that we have learned from a different perspective. In doing this, you can find new ways to market yourself and stop limiting the total amount of talent and experience that you bring to the table.
Here are my recommendations to start moving your year in the direction you want.
- Reflect on what professional resolutions you would like to make. How will these sync with your personal resolutions? Can they work together to help you achieve your goals even faster?
- Define your dreams for the year. Then break them into quantifiable and actionable goals. Are your professional resolutions feeding into these? If not, what else can you do to pivot yourself in a more deliberate way towards your dreams?
- Create a small list of the most positive and negative experiences in your career. How can you emphasize your positive experiences and leverage them towards your dreams? Can you let go or move forward from some of the negative experiences in order to better market yourself and your skills?
It’s only the beginning of the year, and going after your professional goals can be a long-term process. Don’t be afraid to reevaluate where you want to take YOUR year.