Professional Resolutions – We always feel motivated to set professional goals as part of the new year. We make resolutions that we are ready to keep no matter what… until our old habits take over again! Here are a few ways to keep your good intentions intact and not leave your career goals at a standstill.
Make Realistic Resolutions
Like many of your colleagues, the new year is a motivating time for you. You have made a long list of professional resolutions for 2020. Getting a promotion, communicating better with your colleagues, and learning new skills are already within your sights, in addition to all your personal resolutions. But watch out for Titanic syndrome! If you set goals that are too ambitious, you might collapse under the pressure. To stay motivated, pick 3 or 4 resolutions that you can actually achieve. Starting with the easiest ones will help you want to keep going!
Encourage Yourself
If you are overly critical of yourself, you will quickly get discouraged. And all of your good resolutions for 2020 will fall through the cracks. So be kind to yourself. Tell yourself that failure is only a step on the path to success. Employers know that employee satisfaction requires encouragement and appreciation. You have likely already received positive feedback on your work or bonuses for work well done. Put all of these little victories together in a file that you can read when you can feel your determination fading.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
To achieve your goals, you can’t keep following the same routine at work. You need to be able to take reasonable risks, or at least take initiatives. Have you decided to get promoted to team leader this year? Show that you are capable of supervising projects and rallying colleagues around your ideas. By organising a fundraiser for a humanitarian cause, for example. That way you can demonstrate your organisation and leadership skills. Are you lacking in confidence for this kind of task? Get help from a professional development coach. This will be a big step forward to achieving your goals.
Develop Your Skills
You will only keep your new year’s resolutions if you give yourself the means to accomplish them. You can set a goal for a new position, or even apply to a new company. But how can you keep these resolutions without working on your skills? Stay up to date on developments in the field by reading specialised texts, researching online, or participating in webinars. You should also enrol in training programmes. As you learn, you maintain your intellectual skills, helping you perform your best.
Find a Resolution Mentor
No matter how determined you are, it is never easy to keep your professional resolutions. Having the support of a friend, partner or colleague can be very helpful. Their role will be to encourage you and remind you of your goals when they see that your motivation is waning. That way, you will benefit from outside advice on what you are doing to develop your career or improve the way you work. This partnership may prove very helpful in helping you persevere.
Allow Yourself Breaks
Don’t let your new year’s resolutions take up all of your time. The key to staying determined and not giving up on your resolutions is taking the time to relax. Sports, art, reading, or walks in the forest will help you refuel each day. And don’t forget to take holidays! They are a great way to take a step back and evaluate your career goals while recharging your brain and body.
