One of the most important new year’s resolutions you can make is to be your authentic self. Here are a few words of wisdom to take with you into the new year.
BE: Empathetic
—with the desire to truly develop the ability to place yourself in other’s shoes, to try and fully grasp what is happening in their life, or why a certain decision was made at work from their viewpoint and thought process. By developing and utilizing this amazing human trait, you will definitely see a difference in your interactions in personal and work relationships. Lastly, be empathetic with yourself.
BE: Patient
—yes, the saying ‘Patience is a virtue’ may be old, but not played out. It truly is something to be sought after. Having patience when dealing with our fellow workmates or friends and family members will keep communication open and fluid. When disagreements arise, having patience will slow the need for anger and open your heart to being empathetic to fully understand the other person’s viewpoint. You also won’t trip over the small stuff and, believe me, in life there is a lot of small stuff to trip on. Lastly, be patient with yourself.
BE: Loving
—towards people, it definitely does not make you weak, but on the contrary makes you stronger—a stand-up character, even. Being loving is a desirable trait to build upon, as people will be naturally drawn to you. If you’re a manager and you deal with individuals out of love rather than strife, the difference you will see in office performance and conversational climate will be monumental compared to previous. So if this is how it is in the office after being more loving, it wouldn’t hurt to be loving outside of work as well. Lastly, be loving with yourself.
BE: Firm
—in your word and decisions. If you say you’re going to do something, do it! Breaking a promise to someone can decrease the trust they have in you. This can also decrease the trust you have in your own words when making goals and promises to and for yourself. When wavering between choosing a side in an argument or remaining neutral, you need to make a firm stance. Make plans, set goals, and make a deliberate or firm decision to stick to them. Lastly, if you’re going to be firm in your decisions with others, you must be real, and be firm with yourself.
BE: Easy on yourself
—This is one that you really need to take to heart because you’re imperfect. And sometimes the hardest person on us is us, unfortunately. We can dwell on something we messed up on 5 years ago and that’s the reason why we’re in the predicament we’re in now: broke, unhealthy, same position at work, same toxic relationship, and etc! But in that 5 year time span we really could’ve done what we wanted 100 times over. We have to really learn to go easy on ourselves like we do for so many others—family, friends, co-workers and total strangers—giving them passes, but not ourselves. Stop it! So, remember to live and learn, and be easy on yourself.
BE: Malleable
—Have you ever seen dough be beat and rolled into a luxurious loaf of golden crisp bread? Do you know how malleable that dough was for it to be formed into such a delicious treat? It took time! Glass and metal are highly malleable under extreme heat and pressure. When done so, you can form them into beautiful pieces of art or tools! We, like that dough or metal and glass, under extreme pressures are formed if we allow ourselves to be malleable. We can shape into the person whom we are striving after to be, which is a better version of ourselves. That means we will be open minded, easy to teach and open to learning, ready to work, and humble. This is the only way to achieve our goals, ultimately, and to grow into a better person. Be malleable!
BE: You
—With roughly 8 Billion people in this world, why in the world would you want to be anyone but yourself? (Well, perhaps for monetary, physical, academic, or just life lessons.) But the greatest thing you can do is be you and be real with yourself. The greatest thing you can do to destroy yourself is to lie to yourself and live another person’s life. Now go be great!
What new year’s resolutions have you set for yourself? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
