New Year, New Me.
Every year, I believe, we wake up embracing a New Year, and then immediately think it’s a start over. Clean slate. Fresh start. Square one. Blank page. Maybe even new beginning, or new ending for that matter. Yeah, it’s new. But every day represents new opportunity to do something extraordinary. The thing is, it doesn’t take a December 31st and January 1st to provoke some magical pivot. We carry all our past, current, and future into 12:01 A.M.
As far as the calendar year goes, we do step into a brand-new year. And it may very well be a time when we reflect on the past twelve months and consider what to do next; be it different, more of the same, amplification, and maybe even a complete 180. It is also a time when we may seek some insight and advice from others as we consider our plan for the year ahead.
A good time for advice.
I recently received a subscribed email from one of my favorite thought leaders, Dan Pink. In it, he highlighted his take on some bad advice. In his vlog, Life Advice That Sounds Good, But That Will Destroy You, he shared five common pieces of advice we often get from others and his reasoning why they are not good for us. I figure now is a very good time to contemplate their meaning and intention as we make potential resolutions or commitments to get “better” in 2026.
You can be anything you want to be.
Think about this one. Can you really be “anything”? Pink suggests, “Try lots of stuff. Experiment. Play around with different skills, subjects, and areas. By all means, pursue your dreams. If you’re both open-minded and hard-headed, though, you’ll learn you can’t be anything. But you can become really good at a few things.” Bottom line, I would worry less about being or doing anything and just focus on where you already have skills and abilities.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
I remember starting my consulting career and a “mentor” telling me how the critical part of starting a business is the importance of networking. And I don’t disagree with the power and influence of working it. I also came to realize if what we do isn’t creating any impact, no one will be interested. Pink shares, “Who you know is the byproduct, not the strategy. The real strategy is what you do. If you do excellent work, if you keep your promises, if you treat people well, the right people will usually find their way into your orbit. So, don’t waste time collecting contacts like Pokémon cards. Waste them getting good at something real. Because when you do, the who you know part often takes care of itself.” Just get good at what you do. The networking connection will naturally follow.
Follow your passion.
All the “motivational gurus” say that “Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life”. I agree and don’t. I believe you will have a sense of joy and fulfillment, and still work, and it won’t always be easy-peasy. Pink’s call to action is “Forget about following your passion. Instead, watch what you do, find a torture you can tolerate, and discover what you can contribute to the world.” I would add, passion and purpose may not always be obvious, clear, or easily discerned. It may take trial, effort, and time. So, make it about the journey and not the destination. Keep following your curiosity and intuition, your passion will show up.
Make a plan and follow it.
Not a bad idea. Except I wonder how many of you have started with a plan only to quickly realize it needed to change as soon as you started. Pink states, “When we look at people who’ve achieved, who’ve gone from one point on the success chart to a much higher point on the success chart, we think the path there was smooth and carefully planned. But in almost every case…they revised and experimented their way to becoming great.” Simply put, embrace the goal and then accept that the ways and means to achieve the goal will always change. Know the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ will follow.
Always be positive.
Pink tells us, “We want to be positive most of the time. And yet, we shouldn’t always be positive. Negative emotions are instructive. They clarify the world, teach important lessons. Frustration nudges us to figure out alternative paths forward. Regret helps us learn from our mistakes and do better next time.” I contend positivity should never be exclusive of negativity and vice versa. We need both and in varying degrees at different times. Because leveraging both helps us to achieve more. And isn’t that what we do as we step out of one year and into the next. We bring both together to move forward. Advice and Correction.
Listen to advice and accept correction, in the end, you will be wise.
This is a popular paraphrase of the biblical verse Proverbs 19:20, emphasizing that embracing guidance and discipline leads to wisdom. And isn’t that the way we want to step into the new year – with a little wisdom. Wisdom comes from our reflection. We seek insight, ideas, and inspiration into who we are striving to be, what we need to do, and how we move forward. And it comes from experience. We also consider the discernment required in the change, flexibility, perseverance, and acceptance that follows.
The wisdom found in the resolutions and commitments isn’t born of the aspirations. It’s realized in knowing what we do and doing what we know. So, my advice, enjoy the journey. Happy New Year!
If you’re interested in reflecting on the year and finishing strong, consider the following questions.
- Asking this again from last month, how would you assess your year in review?
- Consider the gap between where you’ve been and where you want to go, what’s the most obvious next step?
- What are you already good at and could take a bit further?
- Where do you find passion? What things bring you joy?
- How do you construct plans? What do you typically do when those plans change?
- In what ways do you leverage your positivity? And negativity?
- How would rate your adaptability?
- Who has given you “good advice”, what was it, and how did you do with it?
Want to learn more? Read our other Blog Posts!
