I HOPE ALL OF YOU had a wonderful Thanksgiving that was filled with sumptuous meals, quality family time and more. If you chose to participate in the yearly midnight madness the Retailers entice you to attend did you manage to snatch the advertised bargains off the shelf or from somebody else?
Those of you who return to work on Monday will realize that on Tuesday it will be December 1st meaning the calendar is down to one page and one page only. So where does that leave you? Have you started your career countdown to 2016 yet? If you answered yes what are your plans moving forward into the new year?
Looking forward is the right thing to do as long as you peek back over your shoulder to see where you have been. It helps to know that the path you are on is not the same beaten one you are desperately trying to veer off from. In other words don’t make the same mistake twice.
Where were you this year? Did you progress in your professional life from last year? Have you refined your leadership skills or do you need to hone new ones? So exactly where do you go from where you are to where you want to go? Have you hooked up your career GPS yet? If you are indeed planning to navigate yourself into uncharted waters it helps to have a clear well-defined route to your new destination.
What are your thoughts about the other aspects of your life that you feel you need or want to change as of January 1st? Is your relationship with your family as good as it can be or are there ways for everybody to thicken the strengthen the bond with each other. If you are going to start a new family or add to your family have you worked out all the kinks so that everything goes smoothly?
In sales one of the most widely used methods is the Ben Franklin close in which the salesperson outlines the pluses and minuses of the sale so that you see things from both sides. The only problem from your standpoint will be is that the salesperson is always going to accentuate the positive since they want you to affix your John Hancock on the dotted line. Nothing wrong with an honest salesperson try to make an honest sale so he or she can make a living. In the quiet hours that you have create a mental or written list of your positives and negatives and see which way comes out stronger. For this to work you must be 100% honest with yourself. Pay attention to what you do well and not so well and decide what is the area you must focus your self-improvements on.
Chances are you already know what you are lacking in or excel at. If that is indeed the truth then In that case you are ready to go throttle up your engines and as they say “put the pedal to metal” or the other automotive metaphor would be “floor it!” Not ready yet means perhaps you are not as sure or as confident in your plan that you thought you were. If you were you would have burst out of the starting gate by now.
While January 1st does mark the beginning of the new year that does not mean that all of your plans have to be cemented by then. In the job market hiring does not really start to ramp up again until the second or third week in the first month of the year but if your intention is to make change be prepared to hit the ground running by then. By March Spring will be Springing and you never know what may be at that time. If you are unsure if you want to make a change professionally chances are you don’t want o and should not do anything until you are 100% committed. Change for the sake of making a change is never a wise idea.
As for the writer of this article I have to admit I have been putting my coals into the fire for the last couple of weeks. I know where I am, where I have been, what I continually do wrong in all phases of my life and need to improve on. In terms of my strengths I am very good at introspection and jumping head first into the water when I see a body of water (figuratively not literally since I never learned how to swim) I want to swim in.
We all know this is an annual exercise for many people out there. To those who make it year after year without having to make agonizing decisions or make vows they can never keep I congratulate you. Making vows just because it’s that day on the calendar you do this is an exercise in fooling yourself. Be true to yourself as well as to others around you. That is a vow you should make once and keep it for the rest of your life as it will serve you well.
