A “New” Year

It’s hard to believe it’s the year 2023. It truly is. The fear and pandemonium of Y2K are now two decades behind us. Sure, there continue to be significant shifts of global magnitude which throw us, but we’ve made it. It will be interesting to see what another year brings to each of us.

It’s ironic that we expect a drastic alteration to all facets of our lives when the calendar moves from December 31st to January 1st. It’s as if we hope for some imaginary switch to flip in the universe and then anything which is less than where we’d like gets magically fixed. I wonder who created this mindset. I understand there will always be things to improve in all areas of our lives. The movement of one day to the next will not automatically make that happen.

I don’t mean to be negative in looking at this. I consider myself an optimist in most things and with most people I encounter. I believe in humans now more than ever. Looking at all we’ve been through, it could be easy to see the worst in people. Some have even earned some consideration to lose faith in them. However, it’s because of this tendency to think the worst that I want to offer a better, yet contrary thought for the year ahead.

We need to move forward.

That’s it. Wherever you find yourself in life, there is room to move forward. That may be all the “new” you need. It may be all the “new” you can handle.

You may be saying to yourself, “Life isn’t that simple. You don’t know what I’m facing, or you just ‘don’t understand.'” I don’t want to presuppose or assume I’m aware of what’s in front of you. That wouldn’t be possible honestly.

The reason I want to suggest this notion is I find too many people who are stuck. It may be because of circumstances they’re facing or their general outlook on life and the status of the world. Instead of moving in any direction, people remain stagnant and inertia keeps them exactly where they are. The longer someone remains immobile, the less likely movement will occur at any time.

I plan to take my own advice. When I look at all that could be moving ahead at work, I get excited. There are so many ways to continue to integrate HR throughout the company so we can strive for performance as a whole. When I think about HR as an industry we have to move forward and not settle back into patterns that keep us on the “outside” looking in. We stepped up during the pandemic and now it’s time to move forward.

This doesn’t include how I’d like to see the relationships in my life also move forward. I’m looking forward to having quality time and experiences with my wife and adult kids throughout the year. Regularly connecting with my peers across the globe to make sure they know someone is always in their corner. I want to see them move forward as well in whatever is in front of them as an opportunity. Add to that some fantastic opportunities to speak and publish another book.

I’m not naive. I know there will be obstacles and challenges which will pop up. That’s no different than any other prior year. The difference is I won’t allow them to stop me from making progress.

I hope you feel this advice makes sense and is attainable for you. Yes, the year is new. Let’s make sure we all move forward and see what happens !!