Every year, we make our New Year’s resolutions. It’s a popular custom. Essentially, it is the time to leave behind last year’s resolutions, whether or not we achieved them, and proclaim new resolutions and try again. Steve Labbe, owner of Paradigm Plumbing, Hearing and Air Conditioning and WKXL talk-show host Chris Ryan recently talked about resolutions they want to achieve during 2020.
Let’s Make Some Resolutions
Chris Ryan believes it is better to make long-term plans rather simply declaring resolutions, “We need to have specific goals, otherwise we are setting ourselves up for failure.” Steve agreed, “We all know what we need to do, such as be positive, eat healthy, lose weight, be friendlier to everyone, and drive with more respect.”
But those are the common resolutions. Here are a few additional resolutions Steve and Chris thought you might want to join them in achieving this year.
1. Listen More, Talk Less
Steve noted, “Each of us has two ears and one mouth. We need to listen more and see what opportunities open up for us.” Chris agreed, “While I was in school, one of my professors, Joe Castiglione, taught me that you never learn by talking. You learn by listening. Surround yourself with successful people. You need to listen more and talk less.”
2. Turn a Problem into an Adventure
Steve noted, “How’s this one? When a problem arises, I think patient, caring thoughts of how I can solve the issue. I think of a challenge as an adventure.” “You’re right,” quipped Chris. “Challenges and problems are opportunities. Problems may seem to be negatives. But if you find something positive in a problem, you will be more likely to solve it, and with less wear and tear on yourself.”
3. Base Your Success on Fulfillment and Happiness
“Think about this – the amount of money you have doesn’t matter if you are not happy and don’t feel successful”, said Steve.
He believes it is the simple things in your life that make you fulfilled and successful. For example, this New Year’s Steve was fishing with his son. “We really had a blast. He caught a 3-lb. brookie! My son also was collecting minnows for fresh bait, so we would have bait whenever we wanted to go out and fish.” Thinking adventure, enjoying togetherness, and seeking new memories can create your own fulfillment. Chris remembered his professor Robert Morse sharing some words of wisdom:
“You better make yourself interesting. You spend 100% of your time with yourself. If you are not able to entertain yourself, you have a problem. If you are constantly seeking other individuals to entertain yourself or keep yourself interested and cannot spend time alone, what does that say?”
4. Challenge Yourself
Sometimes after the holiday break, returning to work can be a challenge in itself. Steve noted, “It was kind of funny, because I had that sort of thing going on. After all the fun, I said, ‘OK it’s time to get back to work.’ So, I started with this small problem, then another small issue. Then a friend called and needed some help with a water heater issue, so my team started helping with that. Later in the day, we started working on the inventory. Before you knew it, we realized that we were getting back into a rhythm. It was great! I love my work. The inventory was somewhat daunting but one-by-one our team started suggesting ideas for improving our process, and it turned into something positive.” Chris noted , “We are lucky we both enjoy our work.” Steve added, “But you need to challenge yourself every day to give back to the world. We are creatures of creativity. By creating a challenge, we encourage ourselves to achieve our own fulfillment and success.”
You can, too! Happy 2020!
