Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
How difficult it is to write about ‘ New Year’s wishes’ without falling into the cliché . By this I mean not to mean the same thing that “all people” want. Later I realized that thinking like that is also a cliché .
But what is cliché ? According to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) , this means: Common place, idea or expression that is too repeated or formulaic.
And well, that does not go much ‘with us’ that we want to be different and we seek to be remembered for our authenticity .
Well, we all want our name to make a difference and that our last name remains marked in history with a kind of indelible ink, right?
But yes, at the time of the New Year’s grapes, everything boils down to our same four goals as always: health, love, peace and money.
And don’t get me wrong, they are elementary, but what I’m going to is that in the end, regardless of how ‘unique’ we all are — or seek to be — we are all the same.
Although it is also true, that although our objectives lead to ‘the usual four’, there is something that does differentiate us and that is the way in which we approach these goals.
For this reason I was encouraged to fall into the ‘terrible cliché ‘ and wish them things that I have been learning since I decided to add feeling to my thinking. And no, it was not since 2017, this — much or little — learning comes from further back and may be useful for next year.
1. I want you to be selective with your thoughts
Cliché : “Let go”
Let’s see our mind as a type of usb memory, which you have to fill daily. Did you already see it like this? Okay. Now imagine the thousands of thoughts that enter and leave your mind every day.
There are some that go as a drawer and take up a lot of space, such as thinking about that daily meeting, what you are going to eat, the day-to-day earrings, etc.
There are also these other thoughts that must be followed as a kind of mantra , such as those ideas and thanks to which we have to dedicate many minutes, even hours of our day.
So be selective when putting information into your mind and avoid giving away your time to thoughts that bring you anxiety, such as negative people or situations that already were.
Remember: Time is power. Don’t give it away just for the sake of it.
2. I wish you find ‘beautifiers’
Cliché : “Surround yourself with positive people”
And with trims, I do not mean the physical. I am referring to those elements that make your life more beautiful.
Do the people around you make you grow? Do you admire it? And by admiring I don’t just mean the work aspect.
Many of us confuse that, but the reality is that you can admire people for many things, it can be for the way they speak, the seasoning of their cooking, the way they write, or simply for how they deal with problems.
To admire is to have enough humility to not only contemplate, but to highlight something about someone. Of maybe taking a bit of that to make yourself great.
Do the people you live with really add to your life? Think about it and seeing it this way you will not only be bigger, you will also give yourself the opportunity to think positively of others.
3. I want you to think pretty. Yes pretty
Cliché : “Don’t be negative”
This is extremely difficult. With so many people, meetings and traffic it is super difficult to find the time (and sometimes even the place) to break our thinking.
That’s right, take it from the corners, put it on the table, gather the good stuff and put it in the box of “beautiful memories”.
Separate the bad, what serves as teaching and hang it in the closet of “lessons learned” to throw the rest to the “trash of oblivion.”
This time we should have it daily to process our thoughts. That way we would go through life lighter, but we returned to the subject of limited time, right?
Try to lighten this process and think well. If it’s something you’re not sure about and it wouldn’t make the other person feel better, don’t think about it, much less say it.
4. I wish you were not felt
Cliché : “Don’t take things personal”
Yes, it is incredible to experience your feelings on the surface, but throwing yourself into drama always shows that you are somewhat selfish because you think a lot (too much) about yourself and little about others.
And be careful, the most important thing will always be you, but understanding that we are all part of something huge, this will be easier for you.
Life goes on, whether you go on or not. And although it is upsetting that no one manages to feel what you at that moment think that we all feel the same but at different times.
Do not blame the one who was walking and reacted horrible out of nowhere. You do not know how long he has not purified his thoughts and if it was only a single comment that was enough to explode.
My dad says well (and many perhaps, but I take it from him): See the full photo, always.
5. I wish you know how to reward yourself
Cliché : “Don’t be so hard on yourself”
Obviously this has to do with taking a very merciful vacation, but I am referring to the rewards that are in the ‘super’ short term. Those that balance your soul and that are the motivations of the day to day.
If you have a bad day, try to have something for dinner that you love. If you have a heavy day ahead, take a long bath.
Measure yourself. It is not about spending all your Christmas bonus in a week because “the month was full of difficult days” and pairs of shoes heal regrets. (Yes it works, but not always and you know it).
6. I wish that your bars do not represent your jail
Cliché : “Set your limits”
The word limit causes me conflict. It’s very blunt, isn’t it? With limits we think about “stop enjoying”, or at least to me, I think so. But we can also see it as a protection that will lead us to even greater pleasures later.
I once heard this phrase that I loved (which I would really appreciate if you could tell me whose it is because I don’t know) and it stuck with me:
“A fence on the precipice is not a prison.”
Establish your protections. And I’m not just talking about typical limits on alcohol, party, or spending (which are very important), I’m talking about thinking and that’s how we get back to point number one.
Perhaps you take these words directly to the “garbage of oblivion” that we mentioned in point three. And it’s OK. I just want to wish you a great next year and make a cliche unique to you.