Yes, the end of the year is upon us, and it’s a crazy time with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and year-end work we have to do. I am not one to necessarily write and keep resolutions, but I am going to try to have a list of to-dos this year and wanted to share them with you and hope that maybe this will inspire others to do something similar.
1. WRITE down goals for the year. If you already do this, what goals did you not reach last year? What is something that is tugging at you that you want to take on? Make a list and keep it with you in a little notepad or in your phone. Make a habit to look at it often. Chunking out goals one at a time with baby steps will surprise you once you start!
2. GET an annual health exam. For most of us, this may be easy if we have health insurance coverage, but if you don’t have your health, you don’t have YOU. Try to take care of your physical self so everything else is gravy.
3. READ. Whether it is a professional development book, your favorite fiction, or something out of history, read a book. This one is hard for me, because I love books, I just don’t make it a priority to read them. I get busy and then plop down on the couch to find some mindless TV show to entertain me until I need to go to bed. I blame it on being part of the MTV generation, but I am going to try to read more in 2015!
4. PAY It Forward. There are so many little things you can do on a weekly basis to pay it forward. Offer to help a co-worker with workload; pay for something for someone who is in the drive thru behind you; surprise a neighbor with raking their leaves, or offering to help in some way. Random acts of kindness are always appreciated and will make your heart happy.
5. VOLUNTEER. We all seem to have hectic, crazy schedules this day and age, and the thought of volunteering can get shoved to the back of our brains. Start small with something that you will like and can make a little bit of time for. The world can never have enough volunteers.
6. FORGIVE. We all deal with people in our lives who have wronged us in some way. Some of us are like ducks and can let it roll off our backs, and some of us not so much. Think of how you can come to terms with someone who you feel has wronged you. Chances are, it may be a misunderstanding and when things are patched up, everyone’s hearts will be better off.
7. CONTACT someone you have been out of touch with for a while. I think of all of the friends I have on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest. I may know all of those people, but am I really connecting with them? Pick someone every so often and even if it seems odd that you’re contacting them out of the blue, make it worth their while too. You won’t be sorry.
8. KEEP a journal. Whether it’s a journal for the workplace, for tracking your weight, gratitude or just personal thoughts, a journal is not only helpful to help analyze your life, but is a great learning tool and memory maker.
9. TURN negative thinking into positive thinking. I get so bad about complaining sometimes and catch myself doing it because it’s something to talk about. The world we live in can be very negative with reality shows full of drama, blown to great proportion headlines that saturate the TV news and newspapers, and just discussing the weather can be negative. This one can be particularly difficult, because it isn’t always easy to realize when we are being such Debbie Downers or Negative Neds (I haven’t heard anyone say Negative Ned, but I made that up!)
10. TELL someone you care about that you love them. Of course, I mean family, but also your friends and others whom you admire and consider mentors. We all need positive reinforcement in this life. I tend to get very emotional, so this one is a little bit harder for me, personally, but I need to let the people who are in my life know how much I care about them now, because even though it is cliché, life is fragile and we are not promised tomorrow.
I sincerely hope each and every one of you has a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends. The last 5-6 months have been a joy for me serving as IABC/Topeka president. All of you—the members—have made it great. I am blessed to know such talented communicators and am honored to know you and to learn together. I hope to see you January 7th at Rasmussen College, when we will have some of our own Topeka chapter members sharing tips on the IABC Bronze Quill awards. If you haven’t joined us yet this year, won’t you consider attending in January?
Blessings to you!
~Keri Renner
IABC/Topeka president
