Many people are thinking about losing weight this time of year. It’s by far the most popular new year’s resolutions.
My good friend Tim Nations recently blogged about his mindset shift related to his goal of losing weight every year. His new plan, in 2014, is to focus on gaining, rather than losing. No, not gaining weight, gaining health. You can read his post here.
I love this mindset!
We often think about what we want to lose (especially when it comes to body weight) and forget about focusing on what we want to gain. This is the case, not just for our weight, but in all aspects of our lives including our leadership and career.
We tend to focus on our weaknesses or flaws and how we can improve them. We forget about our strengths and our potential to take these strengths to the next level. The research of Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman, in their book The Extraordinary Leader, shows that growing a strength is more effective in growing our leadership than building a weakness.
This is contrary to traditional thinking, but is a liberating perspective. Their is greater power in gaining strength rather than losing a weakness.
This “Gain” mindset can also be applied to our habits. What habit do you want to give up in 2014? Instead of focusing on quitting the habit, try focusing on replacing the habit with something more fulfilling. In essence, gaining a new and better habit.
I love starting a new year. It allows all of us to refresh, forget what was behind, and focus on new possibilities.
Here are 3 questions to ponder as you refresh your perspective and begin the new year.
What will you seek to gain over the next 3-6 months?
What habit can you replace with a more fulfilling one?
What strength can you grow to be a profound strength?
Image above Courtesy of Pakorn via freedigitalphotos.net
Love this idea – its really about mindset and looking to see what we can “gain” is the best way to improve our positive mental attitude rather than negative! Thank you. Little changes can have big impacts!