Happy 2017

Don’t know about you, but 2016 was a bear. Challenging at work, with my wife, with her Mom’s condition getting worse, and Dad passing away. Very happy to see 2017.

Going to work to make 2017 better. Most of us make resolutions that we fail at. Don’t intend to fail. Discipline is my biggest weakness. So have to work around my foibles. Did get under my goal weight of 175 lbs. in 2016, but gained 4-5 lbs. back. And that was before going on vacation in Florida.

First am going to focus on just a few things: Improving my health and conditioning. Improving my listening and slow down with people. Learning whether or not serious about developing a copywriting business. One thing have learned is the less resolutions you make, the better the odds you will complete them.

Notice I put my first resolution as a positive outcome. Your mind believes you, so “Remember catsup at the store” instead of ‘Don’t forget catsup at the store.

Working on a unifying theme for my resolutions. That way the individual tasks to accomplish are not the resolution, nor the measure of success. ‘A better 2017 than 2016’ will be enough regardless of what challenges come to derail one resolution. 

What is your one goal for 2017 you would enjoy? What theme would carry us through the year ahead? Themes could be Health, Happiness, Peace, Education, Work, Joy, Gratitude or more.

Happy New Years to you, your family and friends.

Get Your Satisfaction

Being Unsatisfied is our normal state. Actually it is a good thing we are not satisfied with the way our situation is. This motivates us to make changes for the better.

Something that doesn’t work motivates me to fix it or replace it. It is why we invent new tools and come up with new solutions. It is how the human race grows.

Still it is not easy. You don’t feel good. How do you stay motivated? How do you relax?

For example every job gets repetitive, boring, co-workers complain, something does not work, and life gets frustrating. What do you do? Find something about you job you like.

I worked for lock companies, which sounds boring after aerospace. What motivated me for years was the mission. We were protecting people and their businesses. Would dive deeper into problems, learn more and think of creative ways to improve our products and services.

My current position does not use all my skills. My position is in a bit of a silo. My motivation is helping mechanics by simplifying their instructions, removing obstacles and providing better tools to be productive.

Get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable. Try something new outside your strengths. Introduce yourself to strangers. Ask awkward questions. Go somewhere you aren’t sure you belong. See what is like and who you meet there.

Along the way you will grow.