How to have a productive new year

 Perseverance 

What are your core principles?  One of mine is to never give up. I am grateful that perseverance is somehow resident deep in my soul.  Winston Churchill had it too.  Remember the famous line in his speech where he said “never, never, never give up”?
 
When we, like Churchill, are experiencing overwhelming attack or bad odds we must keep our face square into the wind and press on.  Showing persistence will also encourage those who look to us.  Seeing our example, they are likely to mimic our perseverance and display this character quality to those they interact with.  

 

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."  Newt Gingrich

 

Watch What You Say

 Moderation

Have you ever had lunch with someone you want to get to know and they spend the whole meal talking about themselves and their accomplishments? 

If you are like me, you wanted to learn about their life but you wanted them to learn about yours too.  Boasting, bragging or monopolizing in conversation is a relationship killer.

A good test as to whether there is moderation in your conversation is to look to see who has eaten the most food.  If your plate is much fuller then your guests, then you are talking too much and asking too few questions.

My father had a great, if not a bit raunchy, term for people that talked too much.  He called it “diarrhea of the mouth.” On this matter John Wayne had great advice for managing our speech.  He said, "Talk low, talk slow and don't say too much."


 

Celebration Isn't Just For Holidays

 Celebration 

When things are not going well, the last situation we want to be faced with is interacting with someone who is experiencing life’s great blessings.  Isn’t it interesting that when we are down we frequently face this scenario? 

It is hard to celebrate someone else’s success when we feel unsuccessful.  When this is our reality we must reject the temptation to be jealous and act in their best interest.  We don’t want people to pull us down when we are flying high and we shouldn’t do it to them either.  Plus, the consequence of not celebrating with them can cause a loss of relationship.

Plan your own celebrations as well.  For example, where you take on a significant task and complete it successfully reward yourself.  Also, at the end of the day reflect on the contributions you made to others and celebrate having improved their day.

 

"While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed."  Mattie Stepanek