I’m all about New Year’s resolutions. I plan them out, write them down, and sometimes even sign them – as though they were the personal equivalent of my FY17 performance goals. Things like “Read a book where the title is bigger than the author’s name” or “Eat nothing but salad till I make up for eating ALL of those Christmas cookies”. Do I always manage to do everything on my list? Let me put it this way; I think someone once said that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.
This year I’m going with a bit of a stretch goal. “Try one new thing personally and professionally.” Why? Because I’ve spent the past year learning the hard way about the value of change.
Like many people, I’ve been doing the same sort of work for a number of years. It was comfortable, rewarding, and dare I say – I even got reasonably good at it. I felt like there was no shame in not changing it up – being happy in your work is what matters, I’d tell myself, and I was happy playing my part and going home.
As is often the case, work changed for me without my consent. I found this great chart (below) about people’s reactions to change, and I’ll admit that I had a typical reaction. I felt frustration and stress and really just kept wishing that everything could stay the way it had been 6 months ago.
What I didn’t expect was what happened next. As I began the process of working with a new team and new technologies, I found that I was starting to think differently. Initially averse to anything new, I suddenly found it all very… interesting. It surprised me to learn that there was a part of me that wanted those new experiences. Even more surprising, I found that the desire for new experiences was bleeding over into my personal life. I rejected a trip to a place I’d always gone in favor of a new location. Tried a new restaurant instead of going to the old reliable hangout. I felt a little more engaged in the world around me, and I liked it.
So this year I resolve to keep on trying new things. I suggest that you all do as well. Change made me into a more open, interested person at work and at home. Maybe it will do the same for you.