Are You Stuck on Good? A Look at 2011

Do You Dream of Greatness?

For me, it has been a turbulent yet exciting and fast paced year. I went from having the best senior year in college anyone could ask for to looking for a job in business, to making a major life change in deciding to pick up and move to get my teachers certification and masters. I have learned a lot about myself throughout this past year; some good and some I want to change.

One thing I enjoy doing each day is reading a blog post or two on leadership & change from popular leadership blogs. One that I stumbled upon last week revolved around the idea: "Are You Stuck on Good? What Is Holding You Back? ” The thesis of this article analyzed the one key difference that makes good leaders great. That key element is the “willingness to change and challenge oneself.” Good leaders are happy with the status quo. Many times they resist change. The great leaders embrace new opportunities and they challenge themselves every single day. Below are several things I want to improve upon this 2011 to make myself into a better, more suited person for my family, friends, and my job.

1.       Like many of you, waking up in the morning can be a daunting task. Most of us are grumpy and say to ourselves many times over this is going to be a long, crappy day. This is the wrong attitude! What if we woke up every morning with ten positive thoughts for every negative one we had? Instead of telling ourselves how bad the day will be, we need to tell ourselves that we are going to make a difference today, learn something new, meet a new friend, and share a lot of laughs. By changing our attitude we change ourselves.

2.       We have a lot on our minds all the time. One thing that frustrates me is that throughout the day, I always forget the dream(s) I had the night before and many of them were pretty interesting. One of my goals this year is to keep a log by my bed and record all my dreams when I wake up. Through this, I feel I can someday write a book that has never been written. People, I dream some crazy stuff!

Like me, I know you have a lot to share you just never write it down. I strongly encourage you before bed to take some time to write about things you learned that day, things that frustrated you, or things you would like changed. Trust me, it takes a lot of weight off your chest and relieves some much needed stress!

3.       I grew up around pasta, fatty lunch meats, and lots of yummy snacks. As I begin to get older, I am starting to realize my body can’t handle all the “goods” anymore. This year, my goal is to eliminate one of the “bad” things from my diet each month. By 2012, I should be able to say NO to prosciutto, fried chicken, Doritos, Oreos, and many more! Along with this goal to eliminate some goodies, it is my goal to continue to push my body to places it has never been before. By February 28^th, I wish to be done with the whole Insanity program. It will be tough but I have to do it! In reality, most health issues we have can be cured with a good diet and plenty of exercise. Many of us just find it to darn hard to do both of those consistently!

4.       For you that aren’t spiritual, you can ignore this one but I really need to get more in tune with my spirituality. At church this Christmas, our priest made an excellent point. Why do all of us come to church on Christmas but many of us throughout the rest of the year forget to celebrate Jesus and his teachings? What are we so scared of? We feel like many times we can do everything on our own, but if we took a moment or two and let him into our hearts, I feel like our lives would be much fuller! This year, I want to practice more random acts of kindness like Jesus did. Give for no reason, and find ways to make new friends.

5.       It is amazing how much we can learn by simply listening and observing others actions. One thing I have learned this year is that I am obviously not always right and it is important to always look at things from other people’s perspectives. A great saying that I love is that “you should never judge a man unless you have walked in his shoes.” Throughout this New Year, I want to make sure I listen and observe before I make haste judgments.

Some other things I want to try and improve are:

*Encouraging others to reach for things they never thought possible.

*Be a better coach and teacher through studying my craft.

*Spend more valuable time with my family.

*Be more adventurous and try new things such as cooking new dishes or visiting a place I have never been before.  

*Read for at least 10 minutes a night before bed. Finish five books this year. Knowledge is power.

*Learn something new every day from a person, article, book, or adventure.

As the New Year is upon us, I encourage you to take a look at yourself and ask: “Are You Stuck on Good?” If so, how can you make yourself and the World around you a better place?

HAPPY 2011!!

-RD