Taking Stock of My 2022 New Year's Resolution

We all go around swearing that our lives are too complicated to manage. And, while most of us will readily concede that our rollercoaster lives are running amok, we remain convinced that there is little we can do about it!

That is not true. We all have more control than we think in adjusting our path. From deciding how many projects we will accept to deciding what type of job we choose is often within our realm of control. Yes, taking on fewer projects might influence our career path or our compensation trajectory, but taking on too many projects or selecting a job that will drive us towards a nervous breakdown or early death, should always be avoided at all costs!

The thought of making some good choices in the new year is something I have been thinking about for quite some time. It’s funny but I have noticed that the more I stretch myself, the less efficient my rest and sleep end up being. That is because even when I devote more time to decompress and rest, the time is not used efficiently.

Worrying about all the things that remain unresolved or fretting about the issues that are fighting to reach the top of my radar screen gobble up way too much of the time I devote towards resting. Not surprisingly, my top resolution for 2022, is to try to prioritize the projects that I commit to in the new year.

Why take on more projects than we can physically and mentally handle? Doing so will just make us less effective at managing the tasks and projects that are dear to us. The time we spend trying to manage our low priority endeavors tasks will always steal valuable time from the time we need to allocate to our high priority projects.

Getting enough rest is an important first step towards ensuring we have enough firepower to effectively achieve many of our objectives. We are not children anymore so setting a set time to go to bed and shutting things down may not be a feasible option for most people including myself. As a result, I've decided to grab whatever moments I can to take naps or temporarily decompress during the day whenever I feel exhausted. While it may seem as though I am being totally irresponsible, I know that I need to get 5 to 7 hours of restful sleep at a minimum each day.

While getting such rest in an uninterrupted fashion may be optimal, we also know that only getting 3 to 5 hours of continuous sleep per night is even worse. In a sub-optimal environment, achieving our goals by taking incremental steps will go a long way in optimizing our objectives. Consequently, one of my resolutions for 2022 is that I am going to ignore all the jokes hinting at how weak and lazy I must be for taking naps during the day or falling asleep on planes when I am traveling instead of catching up on my emails, etc. Prioritizing my health and rest requirements is one objective that will be front and center for me in 2022!

Look deep into your life and if embracing a healthier diet to improve your health or shedding a bad habit that is shortening your life expectancy has been a prior goal, stop and take a deep breath, and apply the same principles discussed above to improve your life! Don’t expect to switch off all your prior bad habits at once. Instead, adjust your routine towards a better outcome in small increments.

Jump ahead in 2022, knowing that you can take that important first step towards positive behavior while making sure that you don’t take such a large first step that you run the risk of having to take two steps backward later in the year.

Take a deep breath and celebrate. Incremental progress is better than the alternative of sticking with an unhealthy status quo!