I don’t wax celebratory at the start of a new calendar year for some reason.
Though I enjoy seeing the excitement it creates in other people, I’m more for the significance.
True, new seasons create a renewed sense of purpose. It’s like being handed a blank cheque and a quill pen to scribble your wish.
For the first time in 365 days, billions of people have a chance to recommit to new aspirations that reflect their ideal life. This is laudable!
The desire to dream big and be better than our former selves is an attribute humans have harnessed for several millennia.
So, I understand the excitement.
However, most people repeatedly set bigger goals and plans without upgrading who they are.
It’s like expecting a 1980 Volkswagen Beetle to speed like a 2021 Ferrari 458 model. It’s unfair!
So, if you want your big goals for 2022 to see the light of day, I have suggested six attributes you can embody.
1. Embody Patience
This is for people who change their minds like the weather. They begin a new venture, habit or project, and abandon ship when things get rough!
No matter what you want to do this year, you will find rocks. You’ll dodge some, scratch others and crash into a few head-to-head. When this happens, you can either freeze, fight or take flight.
The third category is the ship jumpers. They abandon stuff when it’s no longer easy or fashionable to do.
Don’t be in the first or third camps.
Sometimes, it’s okay to freeze to process stuff. But it shouldn’t be forever. Nothing worth doing is 100% smooth and dandy. Brace for impact!
2. Answer your critics with results, not words
When you defend your stance with words alone, you’re leaving room for doubt. Only those loyal to you will care to listen.
But when you consistently answer with high performance, everyone listens. Those who don’t will be doing so out of choice, not lack of evidence.
2022 isn’t the year to argue blindly or buy pity. It’s the year where you earn the RESPECT of friends, critics and enemies with excellence.
3. Over-deliver
This is a corollary to #2. If you make this a habit, you’ll exceed your expectations.
Zig Ziglar said, “When you do more than you’repaid to do, eventually you will get paid for more than you do.”
Whether you’re a business person, a freelancer or an employee, outdo the expectations of those you serve. Be twice as tall!
4. Be accountable to someone
Being accountable will set you up for wins you never thought possible.
Now, accountability is not a silver bullet. The question is, who are you accountable to?
If you’re accountable to a mediocre, they will decorate you with gold for doing the bare minimum. Because, to them, mediocrity is excellence.
If you’re accountable to a global champion, they’ll hold you to global standards.
There’s a difference between being accountable to your friend and being accountable to a high performer who’s WILLING to journey with you. They must be open to telling you the hard truth even when it hurts.
5. People are not pawns
This is for those blinded by ambition; they see every human being like a ladder.
They view life as a chessboard and everyone around them as disposable pawns in a grand scheme.
To such people, no one is important if they cannot see how directly relevant you are to a goal they want to achieve.
When you view people as disposable chess pieces, the value of human relationships goes away. You’ll limit people to only what you can see.
For the record, people are not what they seem on the surface. The finest of earth’s minerals are not found on the surface. The same earth that gives us gold also quakes and destroys our roads & houses.
Humans are a mix of assets & liabilities and strengths & weaknesses. If you want to enjoy the assets, be open to tolerating the liabilities.
A part of the Bible likens humans to “treasures in earthen vessels.”
Earthen vessels, like their gold or silver counterparts, are not glamourous. Some have rough edges and even slight cracks. But they hold treasures.
People are not perfect. In your relationships, you will encounter the underworld of human nature.
Do you throw away relationships because of people’s imperfections or shenanigans? That’ll be foolish!
You need the right people to succeed, just as you are the missing piece of someone else’s journey.
Study human nature and relationships.
If you’re part of my Community, Readers’ Circle Book Club, and you followed our book recommendations for Q2 2021, then you have some background knowledge about on psychology, people skills and understanding human nature.
If you’re not part of the community, it’s not too late. I left you a link at the bottom of this piece. Once in, search the announcements tab and add the book titles to your reading list.
6. Quit the blame game
I’ve met experts at blaming. It’s like they have a Doctoral degree in blame-shifting.
Nothing is their fault!
Even if they step on your toes in public, they blame it on the landscape and the engineers who did such a crappy job in the first place.
Sadly, when you blame others, you relinquish your power to grow. Since you’re so busy telling others what to fix, you become too blind to your faults.
Way out? Study yourself closely. Put yourself under the microscope for a week at least. Notice when you’re about to blame something or someone else for an outcome in your life. Stop yourself right in your tracks and start taking control of your life.
I know you will do well this year. I’m your fan already!
PS: If you want to find the right books and get the best of your reading experience this year, my reading guide is all you need.
Pre-order a copy now.
Join the Readers Circle Book Club here.
