Being excited for a new year doesn’t make for a great year. What makes for a great year is committing to a few habits that will support your larger goals. Check out my list of habits that have helped me and why I think they are important.
#1: Working out consistently.
It’s true that without your health you have nothing. I have a few chronic illnesses, so maintaining the best possible health outcomes is essential. Working out is key to this effort. I fall in to the trap of overly ambitious work outs, and in 2023 I’m going to opt for less strain and more consistency buy taking on easier more forgiving work outs. I plan to walk more, row on my rowing machine more and do simple calisthenics for strength. The CDC supports the notion of consistent activity, and many physical fitness experts stress that consistently doing any activity is more effective at supporting your health than occasionally doing heavy lifting or big cardio days.
#2: Personal Finance Skill
I like being frugal, but it’s not for everyone. Being financially literate though is a skill everyone should learn. When you approach 2023 consider how you want your financial life to pan out over the year and set achievable goals. Include investing in your deeper understanding of how your finances contribute to your meaningful life.
#3: Meditation
People who meditate have new perspectives on challenges they face, they build skills, they have self awareness, they reduce negative emotions and on and on. Incorporating meditation on a consistent basis can be difficult if you are very busy. I suggest that if you have time to watch streaming videos you have time to meditate. It may be a matter of learning how to focus through where you become stuck. Try micro meditations to start. A micro meditation is focusing on what is happening in the moment, for example, when you get up from your desk to get water from the cooler, notice how your chair sounds when you stand, notice what the lights look like in the corridor, notice the sounds of people working. When you fill you cup notice the sound the water cooler makes, the sound of the water flowing in to your cup and so on. Micro meditations can happen anytime you want and can be a great way to break up your day then get back on track. I like to micro meditate when I shower, I notice how the water feels and sounds, how my skin feels, what my wet hair feels like. This is an alternative to ruminating or planning my day.
#4: Communication
Understanding others is a joy, but also a responsibility. Often when we are experts in our field, we don’t really understand how our deep knowledge doesn’t get offered to people who are new to learning our skill. We leave out a lot. Become better at communicating by thinking of the person who needs your information as a young child. Break down important steps so they are understandable, and provide concise information so they can be successful. Be patient. It takes a long time to be as skilled as you are.
#5: Waking up early
I get up at about 5:15-5:30 AM every day. I use my early morning time to connect with my spouse. It is the most important 45 minutes to an hour I have every day. We reestablish our commitment to one another, we review our day ahead, our day yesterday, make future plans. The process is delightful. After we have connected I begin my day with the most important tasks that I must accomplish to have success for that day. Typically I have completed the critical tasks by 11:00 AM most days, that leaves me time to take care of incidental tasks, learning, and planning for the following day. If you don’t want to wake up early, engage in a consistent sleep schedule so you will have a well tested routine for rest and wakefulness.
#6: Public Speaking
The most powerful people in the world have always been great orators. Consider the following leaders, Gloria Steinem, Malala Yousafzai, Mel Robbins, and Brene Brown. These great orators are easily recognizable by most and wield tremendous power. Learn to become a great public speaker, you will be amazed by the doors that will open to you when you are effective at delivering your message. You can learn to become a great orator by joining ToastMasters, joining a local story telling group, joining an improv group, or watching great speakers present information on YouTube channels like TedTalks and more. Investing in your speaking skills in 2023 will help you in many ways, not just to get your message out, but also to build your confidence.
#7: Self Reflection
Being honest within self reflection is hard, but worth it. Just remember to be kind, for every critical look you take at yourself, make a point of seeing two positive aspects of yourself. Look for opportunity for improvement, and focus on skills that you can manage versus aspects of external forces. For example, if you are going bald, that’s okay and not something you can easily change. Having compassion and lending your substantial skill to a person in need is something you can control. Try not to ruminate. Easily said but harder to accomplish. When I begin a downward spiral of self recrimination, I simply say to myself, “Stop.” Then I identify the feelings that were coming up when I was ruminating. By labeling the feelings I negate them.
#8: Leadership
People need you and your skills. Share your skills and build a peer group of trusted partners. None of us can “Do it alone” and by building a reputation by gifting people your knowledge you will become invaluable. Doors open for invaluable people.
#9: Decision Making
Just decide. It’s hard, but you can do it. Once you learn to make a decision and live with the consequences your ahead of most of the people around you. Understand that when you are decisive other will push back. No leader ever had 100% support. I can assure you all the naysayers will never make a decision about anything, they thrive on criticizing others. Just make the choice and live with it. You’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. Things usually work out in the end.
#10: Listen
Truly listening to another person is the greatest gift you can give. It’s hard; often we are preparing our response instead of listening. Decide to listen, then listen. Allow the other person to fully flesh out their thoughts. Often people really want to be heard, and they are not used to people listening. If you are learning to listen to someone close to you they are likely to repeat themselves many times. Especially if you have a cycle of pushing back against what they have to say. Over time they will earn that you are truly hearing them, and will stop fighting to be heard. Your communications will grow and you will have the joy of insight you didn’t posses before.
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