Happy New Year

And best wishes for your life, your family and your work in 2014.

Here in Australia as I write this on a hot Sydney day it is January 2, 2014.  It’s a business day in Australia, unlike New Zealand where the day after NY is also a public holiday. I think of family and friends there, who are relaxing.  And I think of friends around the world for whom it’s still New Year’s Day.  

It’s a day that tends to bring out the optimism in us.  A new year brings new possibilities.  A new chance to change the things we want to change, or become the person we want to be, to build the relationships we want to have.

Statistics show that about 50% of people respond to that feeling of possibility and make NY resolutions.  Statistics also show that about 88% of those will fail.  

But, I believe change is possible.  We can increase our happiness and we can make changes in our lives. 

Often we start at the wrong point.  We look at what went wrong in the previous year or where we think we failed. We judge ourselves harshly.  Our ability to highlight negatives and failures is much more powerful than our ability to see where we have done well or things that have been successful for us.  

And so we resolve to change the negatives.  We often ignore areas where we are growing towards success, where we already have the energy and motivation to work hard and develop more grit. 

Today I want to encourage you, before you set goals or resolutions that may be doomed from the beginning.  Take a moment to review last year from the perspective of what you loved.  What went well?  Who did you enjoy working with, being with?  What strengths did you discover or use well?  What experiences brought joy or satisfaction?  

Use the answers to these reflections to design goals that will motivate you and energise you. 

If you want to explore this further join us in our webinar next week where we will review 2013 from a perspective of what was successful and then build goals for 2014 that can be achieved. 

And if you would like to share your NY goals, hopes or dreams leave them in the comments below -I'd love to hear from you!