Archive for December, 2009
Resolving to succeed
December 30th, 2009
We’ve again reached that time of year when most people start thinking about all the things they want to change in their lives. For me, January 1 isn’t that significant. Hardly a week goes by that I’m not resolving to change or fix or start or stop something. New Year’s Day is the same with perhaps a little more enthusiasm because it’s not just a new day, week, or month, but a whole new year. But anyone can make resolutions. The challenge is to keep them.
TAGS: 
Keep resolutions manageable
December 29th, 2009
“One singular sensation.” It’s the opening line of the song “One,” from the Broadway musical A Chorus Line
Yep, that’s right. One.
Sound underwhelming? Think about it. How many resolutions did you come up with last year? Five? Ten? Twenty? And how many did you keep? Uh-huh. Now you get the point.
3 reasons you fail
December 29th, 2009
As you get ready to embark on a new year of mountain-moving, maybe this would be a good time to think about the successes and failures of the passing year. If it seems you’re still facing the same towering peak you were staring at this time last December and haven’t made much of a dent the past 12 months, maybe you should ask yourself a few questions:
Do I really want to move this mountain? Is moving this mountain in my best interest? Is it within my power to move this mountain? Is the choice mine and mine alone?
Unpredictable outcomes
December 26th, 2009
Financially speaking, this has been a difficult year for many people around the world. Some of us keep hearing recovery is imminent–and things may be looking up for our friends–but our ship is still anchored in the distance, a long way from shore.
Although we understand the world’s economic woes have nothing to do with us, we can’t help feeling like we’ve screwed up somehow. If we’d only had the good sense to turn left instead of right, we wouldn’t be struggling so much. But we need to accept that, even when we make reasonable decisions, circumstances may conspire put mountains in our path. It’s a lesson Andre-Francois Raffray learned all too well.
The joy of togetherness?
December 23rd, 2009
The best gift for me during the holiday season is the opportunity to spend time with my extended family. And I feel doubly blessed when I listen to some of my friends discuss the trials and tribulations of being with their families—particularly the delicate task of trying to bring together the families of both spouses. I actually like my family. Not only that, I like my brother’s in-laws, too. I even like my sister-in-law’s dog.
Sharpen decision-making skills
December 21st, 2009
Finished with your holiday shopping? How did it go? Did you spend a lot of time second-guessing yourself? Calling friends, your spouse, your parents and asking them to validate your choices or help you make a decision? Do you sometimes wish you were one of those people who seem easily able to decide for themselves?
Then why don’t you try to become one of those people?
Fight fire with grace
December 19th, 2009
As a diehard football fan, I’m used to hearing people talk smack about my pro and college teams. In fact, smack-talking seems to have become a sport in itself. All those armchair quarterbacks, pitchers, and goalies who no longer have—or never had—what it takes to compete on the turf, diamond, or ice now compete in the war of words.
But though it may seem there are more blowhards now than there used to be, big talkers aren’t new. They’ve been around since Goliath was calling out the Israelites before being permanently shut down by a kid with a slingshot. And sometimes the best way to handle the most piercing jeer is with the kind of quiet grace Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee
Eat slowly to lose weight
December 18th, 2009
This holiday season like every other, I will walk into my sister-in-law’s kitchen. I will see the enemy. And the enemy will be mine.
Unfortunately, the enemy is a cookie—and it has friends.
Every year, my sister-in-law goes to a small local bakery and buys Christmas cookies I seem to find irresistible. Why oh why can’t she just buy Oreos? I can resist Oreos. But just because I indulge in some of these lovely bakery treats doesn’t mean they have to immediately attach themselves to my buttocks.
Overcome fear of networking
December 17th, 2009
It’s a tired cliché, but in my case it’s true: I’m a people person. No, I’m not annoyingly peppy, but I could probably make friends with a tree stump. When nothing’s on the line, I have no problem chatting with complete strangers in stores, doctor’s waiting rooms, post offices. But ask me to go somewhere and network … Network? Gadzooks! You might as well be asking me to bungee jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.
For some reason, the idea of networking to further our careers scares a lot of us to death. Maybe it’s the idea that something is riding on our ability to be gracious and charming. Maybe we feel disingenuous about socializing to get ahead. But whatever the reason, we balk. And we fail to cultivate the contacts we need to help us connect to the opportunities we’d like to have.
Gifts from the heart
December 16th, 2009
When you think back on the favorite gifts you’ve received in your life, chances are the most memorable aren’t the grandest or costliest, but the ones that came from the heart when you needed a lift. Maybe you remember the day you were recovering from surgery and a friend stopped by with a home-cooked meal or an offer to clean your house. Or perhaps you remember how you were taking the bus to work every day when someone offered you the keys to an old clunker of a used car. Then again, maybe the best gift was just a hug on a day when the world seemed too dark and too lonely.
