6 Tips for Stability in the New Year

6 Tips for Stability in the New Year; Will it be Filled with DUET?

Our Society can be thought of through the acronym DUET:

Divided – Unstable – Erratic - Tumultuous

Your families, organizations, You, and your workplace need to be getting ready for another new year whether you are working from the office, remotely or not working at all. Preparation means rethinking your successes, needs and wants, and discarding the old nonproductive and inefficient actions, products, and services. This is the time of the year to judgmentally identify past successes as sustainable actions, products and services if you are working or what you want in life, eliminating inefficiencies and focusing on the new.?Following are six brief tips as a way to navigate a course for the new year. Anyone with a license can drive a car but it takes a navigator to chart a direction.

Tip #1 – Life Enhancements

A successful life needs to focus on personal health and well-being while enhancing skills, personal development, and professional growth

1)?Ensure that your ideas and opinions are well thought-out, are compassionate to yourself and others, and are focused on who is involved in your decisions and how will they be affected.?

2)?Continually seek out personal and professional growth and developmental.?

3)?Continually give yourself feedback (successes first and development second).

4)?Look for a fair and equitable salary, benefits, and opportunities for yourself.

5)?Find ways to lessen your burden and stress.

A positive thought – personal mental engagement is an essential aspect of today’s chaotic life style. Be proactive in engagement and supporting your personal growth and satisfaction. Take action for your own growth this year through measurable goals (examples: education, fitness, building relationships, looking for professional opportunities to develop your talents)

Tip #2 – Don’t Waste Time

Be authentically focused and implement your ideas and values.

1) Set goals for yourself for each month; identify the purpose and personal meaning of the goals for you; and, measure your achievements each month.

2) People come and go in our lives and that is ok. Be true to your own values and beliefs.

3) Let people get to know you the person not a position; be calm, compassionate, competent in what you do (lay out your plan), and be involved.

4) Ask yourself the difficult questions and do not let negative thinking spiral you down.

A positive thought - you can make a difference in your life by taking risks through your insightful ideas.?A good suggestion is to stay positive about yourself. You never know when you may be a role model for others.

Tip #3 –Personal, Family and Friend Development

Can anyone disagree that these are trying times??Stay focused on the present with an eye to the future (vision, hope, and inspiration). Do you have a developmental education plan for yourself and others? Learning is a lifelong aspiration from skill to academic education (learn what you do not know).

1)?Clearly define and communicate goals, expectations, and direction for yourself and others.

2)?Establish actions to successfully achieve results for yourself and others and give credit to yourself and others in recognition of achievements.

3)?Be flexible and assess changing priorities.

4)?Create an environment that is open and encourages differing viewpoints and the exchange of ideas.?Listen to yourself with empathy and show concern and empathy to others.

5)?Ask questions, solicit input from others, find a mentor.

6) Ask family and friends how you can better…………….

A positive thought - You can make a difference in people’s lives by showing compassion and care, sharing wisdom (sharing your knowledge lovingly), and being a role model for good will.

Tip #4 – Effective Communication

It’s not what you say but how you say it that gets results (title of my first book).

1)?Identify the right goals, problems, or issues and ask the right questions.

2)?Present general information (goals) before giving specific information (actions).?This will help to clarify your message.

3)?Identify the level of understanding as an ATTENTIVE listener; be in the moment.

4)?Show people the facts and discuss benefits.

5)?Make eye contact to persuade; confidently and compassionately present your point of view; be kind.

6)?If appropriate, create a plan of action to follow-up on what you discussed.

A positive thought – Attentively listen, be empathic, clarify and respectfully respond to create a better and more comfortable environment.

Tip #5 –Life Harmony

We all juggle 3 balls: work, family and self.?Are you dropping any balls? How can you keep all your balls in the air?

1) Identify what you want to accomplish - set clear, realistic goals, and steps toward personal achievement.

2) Stay focused on personal and professional priorities.

3) Identify what needs to be done, first, for you, and then add support for others.

4) Collaborate with others; you can do more by sharing your ideas and taking the right action.

5) Listen and understand others’ ideas and emotions; understand your own emotions and then clarify to take action.

A positive thought - At the end of the day create an “I did” list of daily accomplishments that you provided.?Remember: time is a partner in your life, not your enemy.?Keep a journal of personal successes over the year. You will be amazed at all that you accomplish for yourself and others

Tip #6 – Dealing with Stress

We all have stress in our life; the question is, what causes it and what can we do to control or lessen it??Stress can be generated through DUET (divided, unstable, erratic, tumultuous), workplace disruption (remote or on sight), the pandemic, ineffective politicians, poor leaders (organizational and religious) and negative thinking.

1) Identify the causes of your stress (time, family, money, conflicts, too many demands or workload).

2) Identify the signs of your stress: feeling anxious, overwhelmed or angry, confused, and an uncertain future.

3) Learn about tension discharge rate, ways to lessen your stress. Examples are: keeping a journal, exercising, reading, or listening to music

4) Set realistic priorities and expectations for yourself. Take positive actions that support you and others with compassion and care.

5) Take fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time to relax in the morning and afternoon.

6) Write a plan to control or lessen your stress (frequently stress can result from time commitments, workload, and overextending activities)

A positive thought - Remember: you can control stress by positive thoughts about yourself and others.?Look at the good in your life: it may well be better than you may think. Anytime you want, you can be a role model for others. Let others know of your appreciation, show care, and say thank you. None of those examples involve money. They do involve time and commitment which we all have till our last breath.

Summary

Your personal growth and effectiveness are based on preparation, rethinking your successes, development of needed skills, and discarding the old, nonproductive and inefficient ways for ongoing and needed change. Technology drives our lives and people drive technology. You cannot stop time but you do need to be mentally prepared for what it brings. We together can stop DUET and need for a better quality of life by speaking the truth and standing up for our values of truth and justice for all.

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