Revew Your Year - With a Positive or Negative Focus

When reflecting on your business life of 2017, what is your focus?

Are you thinking about the positive achievements, the frustrations or the outright negatives?

We often spend time reflecting on the year past and re-setting for the year ahead.

In Australia, is it more socially acceptable to be self-deprecating than it is to be self-congratulatory.

When relaxing at the Christmas Party, we will laugh at ourselves over the client order that was mucked up or the complaint that was misunderstood. We will laugh off the dreadful recruiting decision we made and discovering new assistant accountant was sleeping in the office having given a false address and how when checking the address, it turned out to be a vacant block of industrial land. (True Story)

It is with this negative mentality that we tend to review the year about to conclude.

We reflect on the errors, the mistakes and the poor decisions and allow these to dominate how we feel about our work and the level of satisfaction we perceive.

As the days to the end of 2017 become fewer, reflect on the things you have done well and your successes.

Remember the team member you supported and encouraged and who is doing a great job and feeling great about doing so.

Be proud of the Client you assisted, staying late because you knew that was when they were best able to have an uninterrupted phone conversation.

Celebrate the negotiation with the supplier resulting in an improved margin on a high volume item or the new re-cycling program you proposed that has decreased the office waste that goes to landfill.

In the celebrations that are still to come this year, it is perhaps not possible to talk about your great achievements. However, avoid talking about the negatives. Say nothing.

I suggest that consciously mentally or physically listing achievements and successes while refusing to participate in negative levity, will enhance self-appreciation and result in improved personal brand and value.  

What is the worst thing that can happen?

It may only be that when you next have that promotion or new job interview and are asked to list your achievements, you will be ready.