At the time of writing, the year is winding down in the run-up to Christmas and people are already thinking about how it went and what they can do differently to improve their lives and businesses in 2016.
Here are 5 ways to make life (and your business) better next year.
1. Find Your “Why?”
You have to know why you are doing something. If you do not know the reason why, you’ll wander aimlessly. And, without knowing your reason why, you’re not likely to put your full effort into any endeavor which will almost certainly result in a sub-par outcome for you.
The “Why?” also needs to be big. If the why isn’t truly motivating, then it won’t help to generate any forward momentum going into 2016.
2. Get Fit. Get Slim. Get Healthy
Is your health and weight (and that of your staff/colleagues) where you want it to be? If the answer is no, then now is the time to set up a plan for ways to fix it. This may mean a change of lifestyle and altering routines to find the time to exercise and eat nutritious meals.
Increasing your level of fitness will improve the health of your heart; drop some pounds, and you’ll feel better for it. And the same goes for your staff. But you must choose what action you will take, so make a plan and start today (don’t wait because you simply won’t start if you put things off), and get moving. Making excuses for why you haven’t gotten it done yet won’t change anything. Take action!
3. Set Goals and Plans for the Achievement
Following on from the major goal of being fitter, lighter and healthier, goal setting and goal achievement can always have a higher chance of success. We all have goals, but do we write them down?
A Harvard Business School study monitored MBA students in 1979 to see who had written goals down when they graduated. The 3 percent who did ended up with ten times the income of the other 97 percent of the graduating MBA class just 10 years’ later. Written goals make a huge difference to accountability, follow-through and outcomes.
4. Further Education
If you are not already thinking about taking a course or a degree to further your education, what are you waiting for? Knowledge, and the experience received when applying that knowledge, is everything. The University of South Dakota has convenient online degree courses covering several interesting subjects that can advance a career following graduation.
5. Get Your Mindset Right
Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist wrote a book called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” which was a bestseller in 2015. If you haven’t read its expose on how powerful our minds can be and how success doesn’t need to follow talent, you should put it on your reading list for January 2016.
These are just some of the many ways that you can improve your life in 2016 and potentially that of your colleagues or staff. What other ways can you think of that can be directly applied in your own life? Take time before the year is over to consider how best to move ahead in 2016.
