Tag Happy New Year

Happy Holidays

Steve Keating Leave a comment

There really isn’t a post this Christmas Eve, just a couple of suggestions.

Hold close those who matter because tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Be smart and put the Smartphone away, pay attention to people the old fashioned way, face-to-face. Show the people who matter to you just how much they matter, that will be better than the best store bought gift you could ever buy.

The second suggestion is a little harder. Many of us have people we “need” to call. An estranged family member or a friend with whom we had a falling out. Maybe it’s just someone that you inexplicably lost contact with. 

Summon all the courage that you can and call them. You don’t need to know what you’re going to say (although that might make it easier) because the words somehow just come. The hardest part of that call is just making it and no matter how it goes there is a chance “things” will be better because you made it. If that’s the case it may just turn out to be the best present you’ve ever given….yourself.

If things are not better…. well, what do you have to lose?

Give the gift of a gracious you this holiday season, then make the gift last all year long.

Happy Holidays everyone, I hope this time of year is as special as you deserve it to be!

Quit to Be Better in 2014

Steve Keating 7 Comments

It’s that time of year. We’ll here it daily for the next week or so… Have a Great New Year!

I appreciate the sentiment and do not doubt the sincerity of those who offer it. I also assume that most everyone would like their new year to be better than their old year, no matter how good 2013 was for them. 

How about you? Would you like to be better in 2014? More productive? Happier, wealthier, and wiser. 

Are you hoping for that, wishing for that, or planning for that? There is a huge difference between the three. The first two can provide a bit of enthusiasm for a while but only the third one, planning can make a long-term difference in 2014.

Your plan must include doing something different in 2014 than you did in 2013, at least if your 2014 is going to be better. You simply can not be different without doing something different. Most people believe that doing something different means doing something in 2014 that you’re not doing in 2013. That could be right but for many, many people success and improvement in 2014 will be determined by what they stop doing.  

Successful plans are not just a list of things you need to do in order to succeed. The very best plans also include a list of things you need to stop doing. You may just find it easier to let go of a bad attitude than to have a positive one. Once you decide to let go of negativity the positive attitude you need for success may just find you. 

You probably didn’t have a lot of extra time in 2013 so if you’re going to start doing more in 2014 you best be prepared to leave some of what you were doing in 2013. Many people fail to do “the new” because they are burning their time doing “the old” stuff, often unproductive stuff, from last year. 

If you really want a better 2014 then don’t commit to do even one new thing without also committing to stop doing one old thing. You’re likely just kidding yourself if you think success will come from just piling more on to your already overburdened schedule. 

It is by the way, entirely possible to have a better 2014 just by stopping something old. There is no requirement to do more to have more. If you quit just one unproductive, unhealthy, or unwise thing in 2014 you could have a better year ahead of you.

Stop, maybe just stop, quit, or give up to succeed in 2014. That’s certainly easier than just committing to more that you can’t do anyway.