This isn’t the happy holiday season we were eagerly anticipating. We excitedly look forward to the Thanksgiving Day to New Years Day time period. It’s the time of year of a collective feeling of hope and happiness—an opportunity to take some time off from work to see family and friends, travel, take in a Broadway show, go out to dinner, catch some live sporting events or watch your favorite band perform.
While we’re still wrestling Covid-19, out of nowhere, Omicron hits us. It’s still debatable how bad this strain will get, but the initial reaction by our politicians was to shut down everything that we had planned to do.
You now have a choice: you can lament the situation and feel bad about being stuck at home, after canceling vacation trips and other activities, or make the best of a bad situation.
When you take a step back, a lot of the things that occur during the holidays are based on materialism—unwrapping a new iPhone or the most recent, coolest tech gadget. We focus on stuff and not on self-improvement. Since you don’t have too many choices that don’t involve risking your health and safety, maybe it’s a sign that you should leverage this time to take care of yourself and work toward becoming the person you always wanted to be.
Forgive and forget all of your former bad decisions. Give yourself the gift of leaving your past behind you. Let go of old feuds. Make peace with those who slighted you. Begin the New Year with a fresh, clean slate.
A growth mindset is a way of thinking and believing that you can create a better future for yourself. You can overcome any and all obstacles. This mindset is self-serving. If you are weighed down by past baggage and searching for a new job, interviewers will notice. Co-workers and supervisors feel your tension. Managers prefer people who are positive, upbeat, enthusiastic and motivated.
Despite all of the problems in the world, try to think positively. Cast aside the negative thoughts looping in your head. When you feel better about yourself, others notice and see you in an attractive light. With a new and improved mindset, people pick up on your vibe and frequency and treat you nicer. It’s good for you mentally and emotionally and will translate into succeeding at interviewing and enhance how people see you at work.
Gift yourself some courage. Be brave and take risks. If you have a bad boss or are stuck in a dead-end role, boldly hunt for a new dream job. Consider pivoting or reinventing yourself by going after a new career or an entrepreneurial endeavor. Ask for a raise, promotion, bigger bonus or internal transfer at your company.
Write a game plan about what you want to achieve in 2022. Take time every day for your job search. Since you most likely haven’t looked at your résumé or checked your LinkedIn profile in a while, it’s time to add new responsibilities, skills, titles, accreditations, credentials and degrees. Get in touch with a career coach, résumé writer and recruiter.
If you’ve been in a funk, start fresh and find ways to reinvigorate yourself. Think of how your future self will thank you for all of the changes you’ve made. If you make the conscious decision to put in the time, dedication, focus and effort now, your future self in 10 or 20 years from now will be awesome. If you wallow in misery over the state of affairs, nothing will change.
Use this precious time to hug your spouse, partners and children. Inquire about their lives. Listen to what they have to say. Appreciate this precious time and be in the moment. Decompress, get hobbies, workout, forget about politics, try meditating and do yoga. Show gratitude for the wonderful things in your life and show appreciation to the ones you love.
Source: Forbes
