Bettering Yourself in 2017

Many who know me will tell you that I’m not a big one for New Year’s resolutions. In the past, I would never be able to maintain the lofty goals I’d set for myself, and end up feeling defeated and disappointed. Instead, for the last few years, my daily mantra has been, “Today, my goal is to be better than I was yesterday.” This opens up a whole host of possibilities, depending on how the day unfolds and challenges me to better myself each and every day. Most importantly, it leaves me plenty of room for success!

Here are a few tips that might help us all better ourselves, no matter what time of year it is:

For Our Health:

• Start Meditating or Practicing Mindfulness – both will help reduce anxiety, sharpen focus and improve your mood.
• Eat Fewer Calories – being overweight can put you at greater risk of heart disease, diabetes as well as other serious health problems.
• Move More – you don’t need the latest Fitbit to track your every move. Just aim to incorporate more activity into each and every day – via taking the stairs, parking further away from the store, or doing lunges during commercial breaks.
• Be More Grateful – studies have shown that practicing gratitude can make you 25% happier. Developing an “attitude of gratitude” can help you experience a wide array of health benefits – including living longer!

For Our Relationships:

• Put away the cell phone - new research shows that the presence of a cell phone during a face-to-face conversation, even if it’s lying face down on the table and never touched, reduces people’s satisfaction with that conversation.
• Learn to listen - Listening involves understanding and remembering the other person’s message and then responding appropriately. The good news is that listening is a skill and it can be improved through practice or through taking a course such as Listening Essentials: Being a Better Listener.
• Forgive - Resolve to let go of the hurt and disappointment others may have caused you.
• Be Kinder to Yourself - while you cannot control how others treat you, you ARE in control of how kind you are to yourself. Practice self-respect, treat yourself well and learn how to be kind to yourself.

For Our Professional Lives:

• Develop a Dream Board - Take a broad look at the things you want to accomplish in 2017 and write them down. Once they are in writing, it will be much easier to act on them!
• Set Aside Time Each Day to Achieve Your Dreams – Whatever your dreams may be, set aside some time each day to take steps towards achieving them. Think about it, if you could devote an hour each day, you’d have 365 hours dedicated toward reaching that dream by the end of the year!
• Learn Something New Each Day – It’s important for us to stay connected to the world around us. Strive to learn something new each day by reading the newspaper, watching a TED Talk, or taking a course online.
• Learn a New Skill – Ed4Career offers hundreds of career training, for-college-credit, and personal enrichment courses to assist you in reaching your personal and professional development goals. Our courses range from 4-week long courses on up and are self-study, mentor supported or instructor led depending on the type of course. Most importantly, all of our courses allow you to work at your own pace, anytime, day or night! Visit us today and discover the Ed4Career difference!

All of us at Ed4Career wish you every success in the New Year!