It’s 2016. The grind of December is over, the holidays have come and gone, and now you’re feeling reenergized and ready to take on the new year. I’m sure you’ve made your resolutions. Maybe you want to lose weight. Maybe you want to quit smoking. Or maybe you just want to be more successful at your job. These are all fine goals, and I’m sure you've already planned how you’re going to accomplish your goals.
This is a big year for you, and it will pass you by in an instant. That big account that you’ve been psyching yourself up for since last year is yours for the taking. Go on and get it. That big project you’ve been working on that’s supposed to launch your career? Finish it. Make it perfect. Go over it again and again until it lives up to your standards. But don’t let it define you. Your career is not you. If you don't like your job, find a new job.
Do the things that make you whole. What do you like? Take inventory of all of your interests. Explore them. Take a trip to the mountains if you love mountain climbing. Take up an instrument if you love music. You have the time. I know you think you don’t, with your work and your family, but you really do. Turn off the T.V. Close the book. Really do something!
Think about the most important people in your life. Are they fulfilling you? Do you care about your friends enough to stand by them when things look bleak? If so, tell them. You can never truly be sure if you’ll ever see them again. If they’re not fulfilling you, make new friends. Join a club. Take up a hobby. Go online. There are people out there who will make you happy.
How is your family? Have you called your parents lately? Even if you have, call them again. If you love them, tell them you love them. If you don’t love them, find the people who you love the most, and tell them you love them. Is it your grandparents? Your aunts and uncles? Brothers, sisters, or cousins? Maybe you love your friends the most, and that’s ok too. How’s your love life? Is your significant other fulfilling you? If not, leave them. No good relationship ended in a break-up or divorce.
This is a big year for you. It’s going to be a long year (it’s a leap year after all), but it will go by fast. There’s time for all these things listed above. If you manage your time well, you can do all of these things. If you don’t you’ll miss the biggest year of your life. Then 2017 will come. And I’ll tell you the same thing. And you’ll find excuses.