Rich Alderton writes:
The trouble with NYRs is that by definition they represent change which most of us don’t like. Especially if it means giving up things we enjoy like the kind of lovely food and drink that shortens our life expectancy. If your boss told you with only a few days’ notice that you’d have to change your job or your IT system or even your boss, chances are you wouldn’t welcome any of that with open arms. So why do we keep thinking year after year that the even more personal changes that we commit to putting ourselves through will be any different?
So this year, my festive gift to all of you is to give you permission to give yourselves a break. Well, nearly, because I’m going to suggest that you don’t let yourself entirely off the hook, with this:
Don’t commit to a specific change, just commit to being more open to the idea of change.
Whether inside or outside or work, try to not reject change out of hand before you’ve given it a hearing. And once you’re prepared to listen to an idea, try not to then quickly bury it under all that baggage of opinions and stances you’ve developed over the years.
You’ll have plenty of change thrown at you next year, and plenty of chances to reach out and grab change that would otherwise pass you by. If being more open to the idea of change gives you the resolve to take just one fork in the road you wouldn’t have done with your current thinking, you’re on your way to a different life.
Setting an NYR of ‘Get A Different Life’ is so scary it’s a joke. But being open to the idea of change opens it up as a possibility. And that makes it a resolution worth making.
Have a fantastic break, and I look forward to connecting with you in a year that is already shaping up to be a roller coaster of a ride.
Rich Alderton of High Performance Change is a specialist in adaptability intelligence and has developed the HPC Programme to help individuals change their attitude towards change, so contact us to learn more.