3 Lessons from 2012

Before diving head first into the new year and all the exciting opportunities ahead for each of us, it is worthwhile to take a moment and reflect on the lessons or key takeaways from 2012.  So, in that spirit, here are mine:

1. Don't let the bad news get you down

With the 24/7 news cycle, an addiction to smart phones, and information hitting from all sides all of the time, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the shear amount of information we process in a day.  The overwhelming majority of news coverage doesn't really leave you feeling great. I mean 2012 was the year of the continuing Euro crisis, Hurricane Sandy, an approaching "fiscal cliff", and innocence shattered in Newtown, Connecticut as the town buried 20 children and 6 adults, to name just a few stories. The media that we we consciously and unconsciously ingest on a daily basis is so pervasive that you may not even be aware of the effects it has on your emotional health.

While it is important to be informed, it is equally important to manage the information you take in.  Here are a few ideas to do this:
- limit the amount of time spent surfing the Internet
-allot a certain number of times to check the news each day and ignore it in between
- give careful thought to which sources of information you choose to read in your valuable time - your time is the most important nonrenewable resource!
- Note: don't cut everything out entirely or you could risk missing out on amazing videos like PSY's 'Gangnam Style'

Most importantly, stay positive.  For every negative story about something bad happening, there is an equal number of inspiring stories of heroism and kindness every single day...you may just have to dig a little more to find them.

2. Manage your money, don't let it manage you

This is related to the first point in that it is all about taking control.  I know very well-educated people who get worried or frustrated when stock markets go down and spend countless hours watching the stocks and mutual funds they hold tick up and down. Why?  Unless you are actually planning to sell all of your equities at that very moment, why be stressed?

Living within your means is a key requirement to effectively manage your money and ensure the relationship doesn't end up the other way around.  If you are constantly worried about your finances, put that energy towards making more and/or saving more each month.  Also, increasing our financial literacy as individuals is a good way to feel more comfortable about what we are actually doing with our money.

3. To be interesting you have to be interested  

This expression was passed on to me by a family member and I think it is true.  Let a true and genuine interest in people be your starting point for all interactions.  Life can get pretty busy, but as Stephen Covey notes in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People "you can't be efficient with people, only effective". Take the time and be interested after all, everyone has a story.

Listening should be the easiest thing in the world to do and yet its incredible difficult and is an undervalued skill.  Sometimes it is hard not to focus on the next thing you want to say when someone else is talking - we all do it.  But increase your interest in other people through active listening and you'll naturally be an even more interesting person in their eyes.

If you have any key lessons of your own that you will bring forward into the new year, I would love to hear about them!