Keep resolutions manageable
“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.
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3 reasons you fail
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
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?
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
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?
Eat slowly to lose weight
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
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
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.
Surviving workplace parties
When I started out, I used to take on temp administrative jobs to help make ends meet. Once I worked for a bank that seemed very proper on the outside. But every year, the prim bankers dropped their conservative personas for one weekend while they attended the office holiday party
They gathered at a hotel near the beach, sans spouses and significant others, partied all night, then stayed in rooms booked for them by their employer. The tales of debauchery arising from this annual weekend were legendary. It’s hard for me to imagine how some of those people could look each other in the eye over a conference table the rest of the year. When they began sharing their stories and telling me I just had to be around for the festivities … well, let’s say I was glad my assignment ended in November.
Cheap options to exchanging gifts
When my brother and I were kids—in the pre-Internet days—our mom used to hand us a catalog from some department store, turn to the toy section, and ask us to show her what we hoped Santa would bring. It’s a tradition we continue as adults. My brother, sister-in-law, and I create Internet wish lists
That’s the nice thing about gift-giving among family members. We can be honest about our likes and dislikes. I’m not embarrassed to e-mail my sister-in-law and say, “Do not get me any pink football jerseys.” Ewww. But we can’t be quite so blunt with friends—which is why regifting