As 2019 comes to an end, are you thinking about the ROI with respect to your investment of time, money and energy this past year? Unfortunately, it is very easy to lose track of how we spend these limited resources, unless we adopt a strategic approach by prioritizing upfront where we want to spend our best efforts in the new year. To develop a clear vision of the direction you should head in for 2020, ask yourself the following:
1. Work– are you happy doing what you do where you are? Do you feel appreciated, and properly compensated? If not, you need to either speak up or consider a change.
2. Money– do you have a good grasp of your finances? Are you operating with a balanced budget so your expenses don’t exceed your income? If you are going into debt each month, it’s time to acknowledge the situation is not sustainable. Ask for help from a financial advisor and come up with a plan to become fiscally responsible.
3. Friends– do you feel you have a good support network? We all go through phases in life where friends move away or get caught up in their own lives, but it’s important to either remain connected with a core group we can count on, or build new one.
4. Health– have you been putting off a doctor’s visit or time at the gym? No excuses allowed here, we have to make time to care for both our physical and mental health with regular exercise, check ups with our providers, maintaining a good diet and keeping a decent sleep regiment. These are critical to our overall enjoyment (with quality) of life.
5. Family– are you struggling to navigate family dynamics? These are tricky for everyone, particularly because these are in constant change either with additions, subtractions, or reconfigurations going on that involve a variety of personalities with differing emotional IQs. It takes a lot of work to build a roadmap to avoid the landmines in this minefield, but the payoff is an immense sense of comfort and belonging like no other.
6. Significant Others– have you found the love of your life? If not, be patient and use the time to work on yourself and strategies for putting yourself out there. If your relationship isn’t making your heart sing, ask yourself some tough questions, e.g. are your expectations realistic? Does the good outweigh the bad? Could you benefit from couples counseling?
If I have raised some tough questions here, don’t ignore them. Work through them, even though the answers won’t be easy. By now I’m sure you have realized that nothing worth while ever comes easy, but if you prioritize and focus on what it most important to you, then you should end up with a great ROI for 2020.
Happy New Year!
By Regina A. DeMeo
