Building Stronger Habits 10 Ways

By now, most of us have long abandoned our New Year's resolutions that were always to be unsustainable. We all seem to get caught up in the hype of making these pie-in-the-sky resolutions to start every new year. We soon realize that this new year seems very much like the one just ended and we quickly fall off the wagon and return to our status quo. NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS SIMPLY DON'T WORK.

Instead of trying to fool ourselves, each January 1st, why not just consider some helpful new habits that don't force us to "give up" eating ice cream or cutting back on our social media engagement. Here are 10 new habits we can all easily fit into our lives without making much sacrifice. Conversely, sticking with these habits will help make all our lives much richer.

1. Set goals.?Taking a trip without a road map will never get you to where you want to go without losing precious time making many wrong turns. It's not another unmanageable New Years Resolution we need; just a clear career target we can aim for -- and hit.

2. Document your successes.?Keep track of what you've done as the year progresses, so you are able to account for your progress and then, build upon it.

3. List new?skills ?you'll need.?Always be honest with yourself and admit where you may fall short. Where might you benefit from additional education, training and experience? Gain feedback from your supervisors, mentors and co-workers. Ask them questions. Hear what they may recommend you learn more about. Consider their best, well-meaning advice.

4. Manage your reputation. Except for perhaps your mother, no one knows you better than Google. Find out what Google has to say about you, as an individual. Keep your Social Media in ship shape and work to clean up those things that might detract from your professional and personal reputation. Follow the steps to good reputation management, offered in numerous professional articles on the web.

5.?Keep an eye on the future.?What's new in your job and career field? Are you keeping pace with change? Are you prepared to address even more difficult challenges and embrace new ways of doing things? Read, watch and listen to as much as you possible can about the latest and greatest improvements taking place in your professional "world." You -at least - want to stay competitive with most others involved in your line of work.

6. Break out of your rut.?There is nothing worse than being bored at work. Challenge yourself to further job and career enhancements, by looking for additional ways to enrich your work. Why not take some classes and or ask your supervisor for more challenging assignments from which you can learn and grow in your present job... and beyond?

7. Join a professional association or take a more active role in one where you are a member.?Network and contribute. Meet new people, who do what you do for a living. Learn more about their unique approaches to their projects and what tools they may have used to accomplish better results. Volunteer within your association and collaborate with others, who can also help shape your own future.

8. Be flexible.?Stop telling others why their ideas won't work or that your way is the only way. Keep an open mind to new and different thinking. Be willing to try out new ways of solving old problems. Avoid immediately "shooting down" even the most theoretical of alternatives, which others have offered for consideration.

9. Make new friends.?Expand your network of friends and acquaintances. Life is much more interesting and exciting when we encounter new people; have fun and share experiences with them. New friends offer new benefits to our lives. When we engage with them, we do the same for them and we all grow, together.

10. Keep an eye on the important things.?Don't let your engine get out of tune. Don't stagnate, while others around you, innovate. Physical and emotional well-being are most important to us. Take care of yourself, from top to bottom. We always need to be at the top of our game to succeed in life. Not paying close attention to ourselves and the world around us may produce some unfortunate outcomes for us.

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Marc LeVine is a graduate of Syracuse (NY) University with a degree in Industrial Psychology, Marc is currently Talent Acquisitions and Learning and Development Lead at Thermo Systems. His prior employment includes senior Human Resources and staffing industry management roles with Edgewood Properties in Piscataway, Brickforce Staffing in Edison, InfoPro Inc. in Woodbridge and Plainsboro and Harvard Industries in Farmingdale, NJ, a former Fortune 500 company. He also served as Director of Human Resources for New Jersey Press, the parent company of the Asbury Park Press, Home News and Tribune and WKXW-NJ101.5. Earlier in his career, Marc served as Director of Career Services and Placement at Union Technical Institute in Eatontown and Neptune, NJ. In addition, Marc owned and operated Integrity Consulting Associates, a Human Resources consulting firm in Freehold for 11 years.