We are super excited to finally launch the new E5 website (it kinda took longer than we anticipated). Along with it, we created a brand spanking new blog experience. It’s been awhile since I have posted, which got me thinking about commitments, motivation and execution.
“Clink”, here’s to new beginnings…
The timing of this post is perfectly imperfect; in that this is just about the time I call ‘the beginning of the end’. If you are like most everyone else, your New Year’s resolution might just be starting to falter (that is, if it hasn’t completely imploded already). At the very least, you are getting that sneaking suspicion, that your will power is no match for those bacon encrusted donuts. The thing is, for the most part, resolutions are doomed to fail, not because we don’t truly want to change/improve/grow, but because the whole premise is flawed. It’s a band-aide approach to a deeper issue–real change isn’t something we come to on some relatively arbitrary day and hour. You can’t flip a switch and simply make it be. It’s like the addict saying “after this weekend I am going to quit _______.”
All that said, I did make some resolutions this year, but took a different approach when choosing them, here they are:
- I will do the things I always wanted to–the things that matter, even if they scare the crap out of me and there is a good chance I might fail
- I will make real connections with real people, not on social media, but in real life. I will invite them to coffee, cook them dinner–even travel to them wherever they live to connect in a real, non-virtual way
- I will give more to as many people in need as I can, be it money, work, knowledge, support–whatever they need and I can spare
- I will love as deeply as I can and try to never leave anything unsaid between me and those I love.
I purposely avoided things like: “lose weight”, “eat healthier”, “get in shape”, etc., because I knew those were addressing symptoms of deeper issues that were holding me back both professionally and personally. I wanted to form habits in my thinking that would yield more positive thoughts and actions.
So how am I doing with these?
Pretty damn good! In the short time since I made them, I am:
Building More: not letting my fear be an excuse made me realize I was afraid of things subconsciously that I was not even aware of – bottom line, I procrastinate less and am generally more productive (we finally launched our new site didn’t we?).
Inspired: as an extrovert, the connection thing isn’t just a “nice to have”, it is a requirement for my personality type–how I recharge and get motivated. Doing it more keeps my momentum going and keeps me from creating in a vacuum. Genuinely doing it for the sake of doing it vs. to meet potential clients/partners is crucial. It’s hard to make real connection when there are ulterior motives. Ditch that premise and feel the difference it makes.
More Satisfied: giving of yourself is not easy for any of us. It is easy to justify not doing it because maybe money/time are a little tight for you this month. Or, maybe you think the recipient needs to be me more deserving or maybe the expertise you give is typically billable time reserved for paying clients. For me, letting these notions go and literally budgeting time and money specifically for giving to others has been nothing short of magic. Simply put, I am more happy, more consistently than I have been in a very long time.
Loving My Work: when I chose this one, I was thinking more about my personal relationships, but love is a powerful and propagating force. Being mindful of love made me realize that if I focus on what I love first, other nagging things don’t get as secure a foothold in my mind. Applying this to my work, customers and partners improved how I felt about most everything. I am more focused on the things I love about my work and people I work with than on little things that might otherwise derail me in some way.
And the funniest thing of all? I am making it into the gym 3-4 times a week, eating better and losing weight. Not because of a resolution, but because I am more motivated to do so–I am slowly chipping away at the roadblocks…
I invite you join me in any or all of these resolutions–after all, right now is as good an arbitrary date and time as any. For my part, I will share lots of great, free tips, tricks and tutorials to empower you in your efforts to build the things you dream up and be available as much as possible if you want to connect, ask questions or need my help–reach out. My hope is that we can face our fears and learn to love our work as much as possible together.