Setting Realistic Goals And Looking Ahead To 2021

Plus: how to be more direct over email

Happy New Year’s Eve! It’s been a year, hasn’t it? To think that in January, the biggest headlines around the world involved the wildfires in Australia and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepping back from their royal duties… just a wee bit has happened since then, huh?

Ever since I was a teen, I’ve used New Year’s Eve as a day to take stock of the year that was and look ahead to the year that will be. While I still don’t believe in resolutions, I’ve learned enough in 2020 to know that it doesn’t hurt to think about some goals and set some intentions for 2021. To that end, I’m linking to five stories below that can help us all set realistic goals, implement strategies for navigating turbulent times, and otherwise prepare for the year ahead. 

We’ll be back next week with our regularly formatted newsletter. Until then, I raise my glass of bubbly to you, to surviving 2020, and to a much healthier 2021.

Cheers!
Maggie

How To Prepare For Life And Work In 2021

Convenience is key for sticking to a new habit. Any change you wish to implement—whether to your diet, your daily schedule or the way you approach work—needs to be realistic for your lifestyle. 

Starting small and easy is the secret to a lasting gratitude practice, as well. Gratitude builds resilience, so to better incorporate it into your daily life, find a small action you know you can repeat every day and build from there.

Research shows that it’s easier to go from anxious to excited than from anxious to calm. To better deal with moments of uncertainty and anxiety, then, try saying “I am so excited to see what happens next” instead of “I am so anxious about what happens next.”

“Good enough can be good enough,” is actress and entrepreneur Tracee Ellis Ross’s advice for navigating turbulent times (like a pandemic) and owning your originality. “I’m not always my favorite version of myself in this and I don’t seem to have access to some of my favorite things in life. It’s a conscious effort to really cultivate things that anchor me to myself, to joy, and to connection and collective energy, because I like that energy a lot.”

And most importantly: Don’t be afraid to tell people about your career goals. In fact, broadcast your intentions, because you never know who is listening and who might be able to help you.

Across Forbes