2009: Bring It!
Okay, so we've reflected on '08 and rightly so. After all, who can say it wasn't a truly challenging year? So now of course we're doing the next best thing: moving forward. Onward and upward, my friends.
I totally micro-manage my resolutions to the point where there are action items and timelines, the whole nine yards. It's actually not even overwhelming since I refer to it often throughout the year with my micro-managed to-do lists, of course. So not kidding. Anyway, I feel extra motivated for the upcoming year, almost like someone has sprinkled a shot of espresso into my spicy resolutions.
I think the new presidential administration has something to do with it and regardless of who you voted for, by seeing Obama gear up for his new job we can probably take those career lessons well into the new year. As he selects his cabinet members and forges relationships with his new colleagues, I feel inspired to treat my job as new. Squeaky clean new. Just out of the box shrinkwrapped new. To the point where you would get excited about conference calls with co-workers as you're figuring out the responsibilities without all of the exhaustion that comes along with the new job.
Maybe it's because I sit next to someone who is new as well and I'm hearing her learn acronyms on the job and create a name for herself as I tell her in the next breath that I've been with the same firm for thirteen years and transformed into new roles five different times. As I've been in my current role for almost four years now, I'm amazed at how much there is to still learn and absorb by thinking and doing things differently. And with my freelance writing it always feels like the sky is the limit so who knows what delicious twists await on this insatiable path.
It's quite exciting and invigorating. So as I pour through my list and have media outlets to penetrate with my writing as well as take recruiting to the next level, I realize we all have lofty ambitions, some realistic while others may be completely out of reach. That's OK because we're moving forward. Movement is good, very good. While we may not be running the nation, we're mapquesting our own careers and what could be more scintillating than that.
Tory Johnson
Comments (1)
Is This YOUR Year?
My mother often said, "The older you get, the faster the time!" As with most things, Mom was right. As you read this, I find it hard to believe that 9 years have passed since Y2K. Remember the crisis mentality that had half the population stockpiling food and water and hoarding cash? All this just in case a computer glitch wiped out our electronics-dependent society. As it turned out, life continued as normal.
As with every New Year, people are compelled to review and reflect on their accomplishments, unmet goals, and the blessings and challenges they experienced. Personally speaking, I can remember being determined to make every year in the new millennium more memorable, productive and better than the last. What about you?
Where are you right now in the plans, resolutions and commitments you have made for 2009? Are you going to enroll in a class that you've postponed until now? Have you announced to yourself and to everyone who cares about you that this is the year your health is your number one priority? Will you join a gym? Have you jotted down your goals? What about the book you've been meaning to write? Maybe this is the year you leave an unrewarding job to venture out on your own.
The bottom line is that every day we make choices, deciding on the direction we want for our lives. A year from now we will be revisiting the outcomes of our choices; I encourage you to choose carefully. May this be your best year ever! Bonnie Ross-Parker, a.k.a., America's Connection Diva.
— Posted by Bonnie Ross-Parker | January 1, 2009 4:01 PM | Comment Permalink