Underutilized New Year's Resolutions

There are certain universal aspirations we’re all hoping to attain in our lifetime. We all want happiness, success, love and prosperity. Most of us believe that if we could just do things a little better, improve ourselves a little more, we would become a better person capable of achieving our dreams.

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions: Am I a good person? What qualities help a person have a great life? How do I know I’m a good person? How do I start in becoming a better person?

Feeling good about You creates happiness. It’s healthy to feel good about You and be a person that other people want to be around.  Being positive and kind will get you farther in life than most everything else.  The way you carry yourself, listen to others, speak, plan, respect others, and view the world are all meaningful to being a better person and enjoying a great life.  Know yourself and create your own roadmap.  Here are 12 life-enhancers that can help create impact on your personal growth journey.

1. SPEAK WITH CONFIDENCE and eliminate credibility defeating phrases in your dialogue like “Correct me if I’m wrong,” “My 2 cents worth,” “To be honest,” “I’m not sure,” “You may already know this,” “This is a stupid question,” and the deadliest of all, “BUT.”

2. STAND UP STRAIGHT by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Great posture exudes self-confidence and credibility.

3. COMPLIMENTS should be received with an eye-to-eye thank you and pause. Adding anything beyond that diminishes the compliment giver. The same for giving a compliment should be eye-to-eye with a pause.

4. STOP LIVING FOR TODAY and begin planning for tomorrow. It’s not practical to think you will be forever capable of earning more and more money, will have the same stability today as you will later in life, and your health will continue to be fantastic. Plan for change and be prepared financially, emotionally and physically. The world will continue to change, and you will too. A solid circle of trusted friends will bring balance when times get tough.

5. TIME is not on your side. Time is the more valuable than
money and once it is lost it cannot ever be regained. Value your time as it were your best friend or child. Time is our most precious asset and should never ever be squandered. Allow yourself time to think, heal and adjust.

6. OPPORTUNITY, say yes. Overthinking is your enemy when it comes to making decisions about opportunities that may only happen once.

7. problem-solving, done creatively. It’s kind of like re-engineering something or doing something backward. You can find solutions to problems just by considering a different angle.

8. OTHERS BEFORE SELF is a great leadership quality. It inspires confidence and creates an environment where others feel valued and respected.

9.  RESPONSIBILITY for your actions will open the doors to forgiveness and your chance to make things right. Whether your sorry for an outcome, a lie, whatever - taking responsibility with “no BUTS about it” is a strong character trait.

10. DUV: determine, understand and verify. Half-truths, gossip, propped-up reviews, undocumented sourced information, sensationalized news are rampant in social media and news sources. Do your homework beyond review sites and take time for due diligence.

11. COMPLAINING, stop. Complaining gets you nowhere and is bad for your brain and health.

12. BREAK FREE OF BAD HABITS. It can take 18 to 254 days to beak a habit. Focus on what you want to change, get support, aim for small changes first and make better choices. Mostly, understand that change takes time.

YOU, what is your take?  Like a baby first learning to walk, you will get up and fall. Commit yourself and focus and what you want your life to look like, be like and live like this year. Be a scientist for your own self. Scientists don’t find the answers within their first experiment and neither will you. Answers are found with focus.