START THE YEAR OFF RIGHT

So here you are—it’s the end of the year and you’re waiting for the ball to drop. You reflect back to what you were doing 12 months ago, and you remember being in the same spot you are now. You know you want to make a difference in the aspects of your life. Regardless of whether those areas are professional, family, or personal, when you reflect back you can’t help but think you’re in almost the exact same position you were then. So, you’ve decided this new year will be different. But how? How can you make this year different, when you wanted the same changes last year?

Resolutions! Many will say setting resolutions is what you need to do. However, resolutions tend to fail. As a society, we have come to think of the term resolutionsas a cliché. It’s something we jokingly tell our friends and family, almost tongue-in-cheek. We know we won’t succeed or follow through with these resolutions. What’s worse is that our friends and family know it as well. Instead of resolutions we need to set goals, but along with the goals we need to explain to ourselves the “why” of these goals. I shared previously about doing this, and hopefully you’re doing this or you already have.

In addition to goals, what are some things you can do differently this year as opposed to previous years? Here are some quick things that you can add into your life to get your new year moving differently.

1. Gain Inspiration from TED Talks

TED Talks are a great way to get your brain thinking differently. With talks in almost any topics from beat boxing to cyber security, they are a great resource. Following their tag line (“Ideas worth spreading”), TED offers many options to help you get your brain going. Even listening to a presentation in an area you have no experience in can help your brain to start moving in a way that might lead to your next great idea. For the new year TED even compiled a playlist of videos to help you out.

2. Read Some Books

I’ve always felt that a love of reading comes naturally for some people. My family, in particular, comes to mind, my wife is even a former children’s librarian. For others, finding the drive to read is difficult. However, finding books related to what you’re involved in can help give you insights and ideas into things you can do differently. For branding related books I recommend our Select Reads, a list of books that we find helpful with building strong brands.

If you’re a little gun shy about buying a book not knowing if you’ll like it or not, a helpful trick is to see if there is a free Kindle or Apple Books sample that you can download. After reading the first chapter or two (depending on the sample) you’ll be in a better position to determine if the book will be worth the money. And don’t forget your local library, a valuable but often overlooked resource.

3. Find a Hobby

Every day you wake up and invariably go through the same routine. A problem in feeling like you’re not getting anything done is that your life is consumed by the same monotonous activities. If you find that during the last year your days ran together it’s because you’re not breaking things up. This is where a hobby comes in handy. Your hobby should be something you enjoy doing, and is separate from your day-to-day routine. If you spend day in and day out in front of your computer, find a hobby that is not done on the computer. Engage with the hobby and make sure that it is something that you find fun. The added break from the day-to-day mundane will help recharge your batteries and your brain.

4. Attend a Lecture

If you live near a university or college, look to see if there are any lectures that you can attend. Often held at night, many of these lectures feature guest speakers and are open to non-students. Earlier we mentioned TED Talks. Throughout the year TED offers conferences and events that you can attend (the cost depends on the event). Your local Chamber of Commerce may even host some activities that you can join.

5. Listen to Podcasts

Podcasts previously had a bit of a tough time becoming commonplace. Today podcasts are a valuable resource that are overlooked by many. There are many places to find great podcasts; Apple, alone, touts over 550,000 podcasts with over 18.5 million episodes. A great podcast is offered by NPR called “How I Built This by Guy Raz.” Each episode talks with a brand builder, sharing their backstory of the brand and how they came to be the company they are today.

Each of these items can greatly help you this upcoming year in actually making a significant change. Remember that you need to have a reason to want to change. This needs to be more of a reason than just “I’m going to try this.” Instead, change your focus to be more decisive, such as “I will do this.” Commit yourself; give yourself a clear understanding of why you need to do this and when you will start.