Resolutions - HR Footprints

Three things that can make New Year resolutions work!

We have just stepped in to the New Year and the one topic that finds its way into most conversations these days is “New Year Resolutions”!!!. Having been a witness to many such conversations, have had the opportunity to hear some classic quotes over the years: Resolutions are for the irresolute My resolution is to have no resolution Why bother – every year we make & then break them While we ponder the above opinions, New Year resolutions still subtly find their way into our lives, reinforcing my personal belief that it is an innate human need to transform & welcome new beginnings with freshness! Yet with the best of intent….most of us seem to fail in keeping up the resolve. Some research into the lives of successful people have led me to believe that the below three things will help us in gaining that elusive self-discipline. Choose to be “choice- less”. The first forty days One step at a time Habit of being choice less: An often read statement – “Man is the only living creature designed with facility of choice by nature”. This privilege is both a boon and a bane to humanity. It helps us choose resolutions and also ensures we choose to go back to our old ways. It is to be understood that it is the property of the mind to opt for the easier choice. For example: As the alarm goes off, you will notice the “mind talk” starts and between choosing to wake up to read and going back to sleep. Mind typically chooses the easier option…shuts the knob and sleeps! Mind is always in a state of conflict between the two choices. So generally we resist the conflict and forcefully go ahead and read for a few days, the very resistance to conflict itself becomes a form of conflict and we give up. The best way to overcome this is to become choice less in the aspect of the resolution that we have taken. So if the resolve is to get up early..the moment the alarm goes off even before the mind processes the choice to sleep or wake up…jump off that bed! Ensure you do this for….. The first forty days… It is scientifically proven that any resolution or task that is followed for forty days continuously will automatically turn into a habit. Someone who wakes up every morning, pours a cup of coffee and goes for a morning walk, in that order, has that pattern built in to his or her brain. So if we can exercise choice-less-ness for forty days first, we form a habit and chances are that the resolves taken become a part of our persona. One step at a time: Research proves that having too many tasks to achieve diminishes productivity, leading to loss of focus and increase in stress. The solution for this is to put a significant number of tasks on hold and use focus and increased productivity to speed up the open task that is in hand. The result will be increased rate of success and self satisfaction. So the tip is not to have a long list of resolutions. Just pick one change – become choice-less about it – practice it for 40 days- make it a part of your persona and you are on your way to lead a disciplined life. Happy New Year resolutions! By: Mrs. Jaya Lakshmi, Sr. Consultant at HR Footprints & Ms. Divya Shalini, Member at HR Footprints Follow us on Twitter @hrfootprints

Look Back, Look Ahead and Execute

Leave a Comment / Personal And Professional / HR Footprints / 31/12/2013

“Before you step out for the New Year’s party, it makes sense to spend half an hour looking back at the year. This is purely a personal exercise and must be done in solitude with all honesty.” Follow Dr. Raj on Twitter @drraj29 It is also helpful to key in your reflections on your computer or smartphone or scribble it down in your diary! The year is coming to a close; we will never experience the same year again in this lifetime! That does not deter us from our New Year party. Most of us might have planned how we wish to welcome the New Year; where is the party going to be, who is to join and what to wear and so on. Some of us may have the habit of passing New Year resolutions, irrespective of our last year experiences. A better way is to look back, look ahead and execute! Looking back – what does it do? In all these external manifestations of party mood, I do notice an internal reflection and introspection taking place in many people. They may or may not express the same, but the process is on in their thoughts! Looking back at the year that is just concluding is a good habit. It does teach us many things about ourselves.It brings out to the fore our best and worst moments of achievement; it teaches us from our mistakes; it deepens our understanding about our capabilities and our vulnerabilities. It also allows listing down our regrets. Regrets of not doing what we wanted to do and regrets of doing something that was not appropriate to do. Before you step out for the New Year’s party, it makes sense to spend half an hour looking back at the year. This is purely a personal exercise and must be done in solitude with all honesty. It is also helpful to key in your reflections on your computer or smartphone or scribble it down in your diary. As you keep referring to these notes during the next one year, you will notice how valuable these insights are! Looking ahead with hope: Hope! It is a beautiful phenomenon that we notice in most of the human beings! Perhaps, it is at the core of human existence. Irrespective of how life was during the last year, hope makes us look ahead at the next year with positivity. Though we did not execute many of our resolutions, hope makes us pass some more resolutions for the New Year. Though there has been not much of success at work, hope makes us think that first quarter of the New Year (and the last quarter of the financial year) will be far better. Though the academic performance has nothing much to talk about so far, hope gives us strength to think that we can catch up from now on. As you look at all these examples, we understand how vital HOPE is in our lives. If we failed during the last year, hope makes us strive for success in the New Year. If we were successful during the last year, hope gives us courage to dream bigger in the New Year. On the flip-side, just imagine for a moment how does it work when we lose hope. We tend to give up; we drop our shoulders; we end up in despair; when we do not have hope, we do not look ahead; we essentially get stuck in the past and we suffer in pain. The whole concept of Positive Psychology teaches us the importance of remaining positive and striving with hope. It is at the root of good life and wellbeing. Embark on the New Year with bundles of hope! Execute – be the game changer: While positivity is the frame of mind that we use to look ahead,we need to have discipline to execute what we plan to accomplish in the New Year. If we fail to execute our plans, remember that we are accumulating our regrets for the end of year. Keep a simple target: minimize the number of items that you will include “I should have done“ category; instead, maximize the items under your “I have done“ category. It will surely take you to greater heights! Having read this article, it is important to act: First, fix your half an hour slot for you to look back; do with sincerity. Second, irrespective of how the last year has been engage in self-talk and pump in positive hope for the near year. Finally, remember that execution is going to be the game changer! Shed your procrastination. Take the first step and act! Wish you a positive new year! This article was published in: HR Mirror Hans India Follow us on Twitter @hrfootprints

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