2017 – Bring it on. I’m ready … are you?

A New Year means recommence, renovate hopes, reflect about the past and resolve how to make the future better.

2017 bring it on

Within two weeks, we will be saying goodbye to 2016 and welcoming 2017. It seems it was yesterday that we were garnishing our houses for the end of the year festivities – 2016 has just fleshed! Looking back, in 2016 we witnessed a lot of interesting events, to say the least, worldwide. Donald Trump became the US-president-elect; European migrant crisis; BRExit and the unexpected outcome of David Cameron’s plan / referendum; Zica virus spread in Latin America; Narenda Modi’s government demonetizes old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 banknotes in India; on shipping we have seen bankruptcy, merges and alliances being formed etc – and many other remarkable ones with different impact.

These were/are substantial happenings that ‘may’ even change the way we see the world today and may also affect some of us directly or indirectly – although we, or some of us, cannot and have not influenced them. But how about you on personal level and those things you can (could) influence directly. Have you reflected about that?

  • What have you seen in 2016 that you would like to change or improve in 2017?
  • Have you accomplished everything you planned (If you had a plan at all) in 2016?
  • What would you like to happen or be different in 2017? And more importantly…
  • What are you doing for that to materialize?

If you haven’t done anything and don’t have a plan, these two weeks of festive breaks and when work stress tends to reduce a bit (for some of us), is probably a good period to run such exercise and create you New-Year resolution!

“If the thing you wish to do is right, and you believe in it, go ahead and do it!” by Napoleon Hill.

A ‘New Year’s resolution’ is not a particular Brazilian thing but is something I believe. I was raised in a culture where New Year means “recommence” and I try to incorporate the same on my kids’ upbringing. I was also taught that New Year is time to renovate hopes, to reflect about the past and think of ways to make the future better.

Today, a bit older, learned that New Year is a gold opportunity to put together a resolution on what I want to do – either more or maybe less, improve and change in the year to come! Also learned, surely not an exclusivity of mine, that we all have ambitions and dreams that drive us (the famous “take us out of the bed” every day!) where personal and professional level go hand-in-hand.

My New Year resolution is ‘almost’ ready and I get started applying now – yes, before January 1st.  Life also taught me that involving those people who we trust (supporters, family, mentors and coaches) and working systematically on key actions, the likelihood to succeed increases tremendously! In mine resolution I always involve my wife & kids, mentor, coach/close-friends to increase my chances to succeed – and I feel extremely confident about it!

Devising a new year’s resolution requires time and reflection. People have different priorities in life and it is important to put things into perspective. What is important for you may not be important for me and vice versa. On the book “The 7 habits of highly effective people” by Stephen Covey, I like particularly the habit seven ‘SHARPEN THE SAW’ as I think it has all to do with this article and helps us thinking how to prioritize things. Read this short part of the book:

SHARPEN THE SAW

Suppose you come upon a man in the woods feverishly sawing down a tree.

“You look exhausted!” you exclaim. “How long have you been at it?”

“Over five hours,” he replies, “and I am beat. This is hard.”

“Maybe you could take a break for a few minutes an sharpen that saw. Then the work would go faster.”

“No time,” the man says emphatically. “I’m too busy sawing.”

Habit seven is taking time to sharpen the saw (you’re the saw). It’s the habit that makes all the others possible.

To sharpen the saw means renewing ourselves, in all four aspects of our natures:

  • Physical – exercise, nutrition, stress management;
  • Mental – reading, visualizing, planning, writing;
  • Social/Emotional – service, empathy, synergy, and security;
  • Spiritual – spiritual reading, study, and meditation.

Interesting, isn’t it? Trevor has the 7 habits as part of his study materials (available in the toolbox / this page).

On December 2015, Trevor and I exchanged bits and pieces of our New Year’s resolution, especially those very close to our hearts, and this blog was one of the things we discussed and implemented. Revisiting my 2016 New Year’ resolution, I realized that I managed to succeed in more than 80% of things I have planned. As anyone, I endured some setbacks along the course which I believe were necessary and very important for my development. Conversely, I also CELEBRATED a huge amount of successe – different angles and levels.

The secret of living a good experience, positive or negative, lies on how you face it and transform into opportunity. Napoleon Hill said ‘every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.’ And I truly believe in that! Such experiences made me stronger for the ensuing year.

For me, 2016 was awesome! It was full of learning and development. It was the year I received a lot of support from great people (mentor, coaches, my wife and kids) in my journey to becoming a better version of myself. I also strengthened important alliances and managed to materialize a few dreams. If you asked me what I am doing differently this time concerning my New Year’s resolution, I would say I am being much more specific concerning what I want to accomplish!

For 2017, and my mind is already there, I am determined to learn more & faster, to love more, laugh more, read more (qualitatively) and be more appreciative.

As a whole, I will continue living a great life surrounded by awesome people and likeminded – by decision. And most importantly, in 2017 I will reap all the benefits of the seeds I have sown in 2016.

2017 – Bring it on. I’m ready … are you?

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Author: Domingos Silva Junior

Domingos Silva Jnr is Brazilian by birth and a shipping industry specialist with over 21 years of experience of international container shipping operations leading multicultural teams globally. Domingos encourages his teams for continuous improvement, teamwork and the ability to transform challenges into opportunities. His motto “If a problem is said to be difficult, my team would need a few hours. And if said to be impossible, three days would be sufficient to find a solution.” LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domingos-dos-reis-silva-junior-4b05a1b

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