“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
At St. Mary’s Academy in my hometown of Bacolor, in the early years of honing my writing skills, I vividly remember during high school days, our renowned english teachers (Mr Erlinda Cortes, Mrs Ludy Paladin etc), right after the much-awaited Christmas break, upon the resumption of classes, their first order of a day was to write a 2 pager in our composition booklet titled “My New Years’s Resolution”.
For four straight years, I recall writing about general goals such as being a good person, a better student, be more interested in mathematics, becoming the ideal son, aim to be that perfect brother or a good friend. Having done such compositions for four (4) consecutive years, writing about it somehow became second nature almost automatic & quite seamless. There were slight variations though as we breezed through secondary education. Because it was more of to comply to an academic requirement, I did not really see them as significant & lofty at that time, though on hindsight, they have helped mold my aspirations later in life.
Incredibly, fast forward 40 plus years later, those New Year’s Resolution I’ve written about have not gone out of fashion or passion wise. Being way past my late golden years, with an abundance of life experiences gained, challenges to overcame, celebrated both big & small victories, the minute details of my past New Year’s Resolution compositions may have changed a little but the general sense in terms of applicability & practicality, on how to become a better version of myself be as an employee or employer, a colleague or leader, friend, husband & father or in general as a person, remain the same.
That is why, in whatever purpose or aspiration, crafting a meaningful New Year’s resolutions can be a great way of seeing what good looks like and have a better view of how one fared in the year about to end.
To pave a smoother way, referencing past mistakes or shortcomings show clearer direction then serve as guide towards fully achieving previous unfulfilled set goals, be it in our professional or personal life.
Revisiting those un accomplished goals or aspirations, be they short-term, mid term or long-term is always good a good way to start.
On my part, my immediate resolution is to admit my ignorance & incompetence on certain things, take accountability for my shortcomings, failures, imperfections & deficiencies.
As I continue my journey of self-discovery, having realized early on, that my decades of work & life experience do not necessarily mean am the only an A list expert or a success story already, am still not a “know it all” or “do it all” guy who can handle everything or anything that comes my way with ease. Admitting my inadequacies help me to stay humble and grounded.
Being already a business leader or the head of the family, is not parallel to always being right or automatically having the final say on everything where nobody is expected to raise a challenge or raise a different but better perspective.
I will definitely seek help as often as possible. I will not hesitate to raise my hand if I need help.
Next is to strive to keep improving. It is never too late to seek bigger things even if things seem to be winding down thru a late career change or converting a hobby into a profession. It does take takes courage shift gear & try to learn new things. The uncertainty of success can be daunting if one does not look to change, add or eliminate ways.
Admittedly, Lady luck has always been on my side but luck was never a strategy for success; hard work is.
Achieving success is not an exact science. It is that extra effort that somehow determines the greater probability of positive gain & favorable results.
Personally, being a little more tech savvy & learning how to leverage AI, instead of worrying about emerging technology will be liberating. In the new industry am navigating & learning, the usefulness of Microsoft excel & its applications is something that I had only explored minimally and applied minutely. I was being overly dependent on others to compile my data which just added another layer bureaucracy in the workflow.
As an employee & employer, being fully committed to learning new skills relevant to current job, tasks or endeavor remains a critical factor in achieving success.
Another immediate top of my list is being resolute in working on organizing tasks better to increase my productivity & efficiency. With too many things expected to be on my plate, becoming familiar with tools such as e calendars, to-do lists, or project management apps can help keep track of deadlines, progress and priorities not only at work but also with family & personal matters.
If I have better time management, I’ll have more time to learn new things in the home front.
As a family man, aside from spending more valuable time through family dinners, travel & vacations, I would like to learn how to make better use of our automated house chore wares. I intend to make full use of the modern features of my wife’s front loading washing machine so that I can reduce idle time to enable me focus on other trade skills like fixing busted lights, clogged drain pipes & malfunctioning switches. With so many tasks and so limited time, maximizing efficiency even in terms of laundry and other chores is a very big mid term goal. In the kitchen meantime, aside from my “begucan”, I’d like to add more cooking recipes, like lengua and estupado.
A change in strategy, be it through team composition or timeline & whom to engage is a mid term strategy going to the long term for sustainability.
In the past, micromanaging hastens the process, it is something that I want to do away. I realized that just because it proved effective for many years to make things move and targets had been achieved it does not necessarily mean it still works miracles. My detailed approach to things doesn’t mean it is still the right way up until today. I now think it hinders the growth & limits the learnings of my direct reports because am churning out doers, instead of thinkers.
It is time to let others do things & just be an observer, not being focused on small details but with a keen eye of the bigger picture.
On the long term, I will consistently continue, to champion for employees and allow them to be going for the things that they truly love & passionately want, by giving them the opportunities, exposure & time to learn new skills & develop to their full potential without any hinge of worry that it may cost me my own job instead of becoming a statistic among high potential employees jumping ship.
Presenting learning opportunities not only to employees but also to myself will not be limited to online trainings or classroom type seminars. By being a mentor to them & help them become successful must not only be whenever there is an opportunity or if time allows but a goal without respite, grabbing every opportunity at any given time. I must admit that having come from gen Z, growing employees to their full potential was sometimes viewed as a threat or somebody who would steal the thunder from you or maybe replace you someday. As a person, myself not an exception, to be constantly relevant, means learning new skills & looking for other tasks to be accomplished.
As a leader, I will continue to regularly ask or seek feedback from colleagues, friends & family. Listening will be a big help to improve & become better. Using honest feedback as unbiased reference rather than resenting constructive criticism should be how one view things. Unsolicited advice should always be seen as good intentioned rather than being plain let down. Learning not to be easily offended by unexpected remarks but instead being graceful for honest feedback is a priority long term goal
These do not have to necessarily come from mentors, experts or superiors but can come from even the attendant who mans the parking slots in the place of work or the youngest in the family because unfiltered perspective coming from a third person turns out better & clearer.
Prioritizing physical and mental health will no longer be based on availability & need but by the desire for lonegivty. To exercise regularly by doing walking at least 8 kms per day the eventually running a marathon might sound like a long shot but am laying the groundwork anyway. Eating right & practice mindfulness or meditation is something that I’ve always wanted to do the soonest as well. I hope someday I can become less of a carnivore.
Investing ample quality time and effort in family & relationships is a great goal too. Being overly busy somehow lead to unnecessary disconnections with old time friends, team mate, relatives & my vegetable garden. Above all of these prioritizing family time than having social fun is still on top of my list.
For this coming year, to stop being resentful of people who have been a disappointment not only to my me but to theirs should be a thing of the past. I letting go of unnecessary baggage. Just being plain thankful & taking this as a cue that it is not worth my while is a blessing already.
Will refrain from being constantly critical, because no matter how good intentioned, I realized it can hurt feelings and damage self-esteem. So I will just breath in and smile whenever I feel like making a suggestion.
I know that I will always disengage from selfish motives & deceitful acts. I will not be party to anything that damages good relations. Matters that do not really add value or contribute to one’s welfare and growth is not going to earn my attention.
Tone down on being overly negative or outright because its does not help in any situation, relationships or endeavors. It only erodes the chances of success at the onset. Full trust & confidence is a powerful enabler.
To always put across accurate information & timely messaging must be a constant. Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts both at work and in relationships. Helping ensure communication channels clear and should the lines be off, endeavor open them.
This coming new year, not being too rigid and sometimes unwilling to compromise hindered collaboration. Teamwork used to be called the game changer but now it is flexibility, be it as an individual or as a team member. I will be more open to more new ideas and flexible in negotiations towards “win-win” solutions.
Be it at work or personal relations, I advise those that lack transparency to flip it. Not being transparent can jeopardize a transaction, destroy personal relationship or sabotage common goals. Integrity means engaging the right persons, being in the right situations or advocating for the right endeavor.
For 2025, decluttering will not be the exclusive to material things be at home or at work but also with relationships both professional & personal needs a second look. I am giving away boxes or unused clothes, shoes and gadgets that have just gathered dust in my closet. I am throwing away personal effects that is plain garbage for me. In the same manner, I am staying away from sources of resentment, negativity & anything that does not really add value. It is the most logical thing to do to be happy.
Wasting valuable resources such as time, money & relationships on unrealistic or overly hyped situations are never helpful. Being willing to let go of the old ways is bold move but at times necessary. It takes courage to start anew.
It is crystal clear that it is time to move away & disconnect from the wrong set of people, goals, advocacies or aspirations.
For 2025, my short, medium & long term resolutions is generally to reduce if not totally eliminate from the equation negative things or things that do not really add value, to be healthier both physically & mentally, be more positive, not being hard on others & to myself specially and continue to be productive in all aspects of life. These are my priority resolutions worth trying again & again.
Thankful that there is always a coming new year that allows us to work from where we left off. Trying harder & learning from the past year then apply the lessons from the past year to the new year is key.
These are very daunting New Year’s Resolution indeed but worth attempting to realize. They say the trick is trick is visualization. These days the simply say “claiming it”.
Happy & Prosperous New Year to all.
GOOD MORNING HARDWORKING PEOPLE!For comments & suggestions, you may email author [email protected] & follow in Facebook Herrie Raymond Rivera.