As 2016 is now in full swing, I have been contemplating what is in store for all of us over the next 11 months or so and thought back to when I asked our employees about their resolutions for New Year. I heard very realistic goals, both on the professional and personal level.
One of them was about ‘thinking safety all the time, not just some of the time’. Health, safety and security is paramount for our organisation and is one of our core values, so it’s great to see this commitment in resolutions. Their professional resolutions were typically related to success at work or specific programmes they are managing – they want to see their progress and/or completion. They also want to drive efficiencies and sustainability more strongly. Personally, they typically wish to spend more time with families or make time for working out.
As we have stepped into the New Year, full of hopes, aspirations and determination to become better, leaner and wiser, we should realise that small changes, perhaps in our work-life balance or elsewhere, as described above, may be the most sustainable; these can make a huge difference. Yet, many of us go to extremes, setting unreasonable objectives, striving for the Holy Grail, for perfection.
Perfection is subjective and can be related to different aspects of people’s lives. But the thread that connects all that is the idea that we are never perfect enough.
Picture this:
An immaculate home. A toned body. Wrinkle-free skin. Straight, white teeth. A certain amount of calories per day. The perfect job. The ‘right’ number of children. Fast-growing career. Eating healthily. Completing every task on your to-do list.
Is this the idea of perfection that we all strive for?
If it is, what are we achieving? In some ways we are actually creating a loss of freedom; we have less time and make more excuses for why we are unable to reach certain goals or enjoy life at all. So perhaps instead of writing big New Year’s resolutions, think about your choices as small pieces of a big puzzle. Simply, accept yourself today and embrace 2016 with an open mind - because being imperfect makes you human. And celebrate the small achievements which will ultimately contribute to a big part of your happiness and success.