Transform your life even in the midst of a global pandemic
Written by Colin Denoon,
Attorney- At Law
By all accounts 2021 has been a tough year. The global pandemic continues to rage on in spite of attempts to stem the rate of infection by means of COVID-19 health protocols and vaccination efforts by governments worldwide. Many lives have been lost and many persons are fighting for their lives at hospital. Not to mention the long hours worked by healthcare professionals and the millions of people worldwide who have lost their jobs and businesses.
On the flip side, the pandemic has also provided us with an opportunity to reflect on those things that are most important to us and given us a renewed desire to hold our families and loved ones even closer to us.
In spite of all the financial, economic, psychological and personal challenges that we faced, we have made it into another year! I am determined to make 2022 my best year yet and I wholeheartedly believe that you can do the same.
What follows are five ways that I believe we can all employ in order to thrive even in the midst of the uncertainty and difficulty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. Establish your priorities
What are the key areas in your life that you would like to focus on this year? Have you thought about it? Like really thought about it? In the words of Mark Twain:
“To change your life, you need to change your priorities”
Your priorities will determine how you spend your time, how you spend your money and the activities to which you devote your energy. Take my advice and make a list of your priorities.
2. Set SMART Goals
It is only after you have identified the priority areas that you are then able to set goals. A goal is different from the typical New Year’s Resolution. You know the ones you make every year but never get past January before you fall off the wagon?
To be effective a goal must be SMART. That is, your goals for 2022 must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound. For example one of my goals this year is to read three books a month. That’s a SMART goal as opposed to if I had just said “I want to read more this year”. Catch the difference?
3. Work hard at crushing your goals
While it is fantastic to set goals, we actually have to do the hard part of consistently putting in the work. After all, I’m not going to attract new clients to my law practice, by just thinking about it. Similarly, I can guarantee you that achieving your goals would require lots of effort from you as well.
Nothing good comes easy and if we want to transform our lives in 2022, we have to make a commitment to put in more effort than we have ever done before. In essence, we need to become passionate about achieving our goals and work relentlessly at pursuing them. Closely connected with this would be managing distractions and ensuring that we surround ourselves with the right people.
4. Look for ways to give back
I also believe that part of making our lives better is giving towards meeting the needs of others. Sure, things may be challenging for us in some form or fashion but there is always someone who is in a worse position than we are. If I were to wax biblical, I would say:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive”
When we volunteer our time and energies towards supporting worthy causes we are able to make a difference in the lives of others. We also reap benefits in terms of improved mental health and we are able to expand our circle of influence by connecting with people who we otherwise would not have met.
5. Practice self-care
For this year, I’ve resolved that I will make a greater effort to set aside time for myself. I’ve found that when I get too consumed with work and other responsibilities I eventually get to the point of burn out and when it occurs, feelings of depression and inadequacy are often the result.
If you are desirous of transforming your life in 2022, it is also important that you make time to take care of yourself. You can take care of yourself by setting aside time for exercise, writing in a journal, taking time to meditate, taking time to pray and making time for your hobbies. Making time for friends and family can also be an act of self-care. Whatever you choose to do, this year practice self-care and it will affect the way that you are able to show up in all areas of your life.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.