STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF IN 2017

This post for the new year feels by no means obligatory to me. I think that there is no better time than the beginning of the year to offer a key to making this a successful year for you. There are obvious resolutions that I’m sure you’ve heard of many times before. Maybe you want to lose weight, maybe travel more and of course save more money. Let me offer another, often overlooked, resolution. How about standing up for yourself this year? Now I know you’re envisioning standing in the schoolyard facing off against the school bully. However, I’m not talking about standing up for yourself physically. I’m referring to being the commander and chief of your time and energy in 2017.

Finding Value in Yourself 

“Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” ― M. Scott Peck 

There are a lot of things in today’s world that crave our attention. There is a distraction waiting for you at every hour of every day. That television show, that social media feed and what’s trending on YouTube. Let’s be honest, it’s not hard to spend hours doing absolutely nothing besides consuming media. And speaking from my own experience I remember times when I had something much more important to accomplish but I wasted valuable time “unwinding”. I wasn’t prioritizing my time and energy. I traded working on goals today for putting them off until tomorrow because I didn’t believe in the value of my time. I needed a reality check. If I didn’t work on my goals who would? If I didn’t stand up to my own love of idleness than I was going to be stuck in neutral. My advice to you…Check Yourself!

No Falsehood in Being Genuine 

“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” ― Frederick Douglass
Some people may be great at self-discipline, but not so great at standing ground against others. Think of all the times you had to rearrange your day or week to accommodate someone else’s request. I’m not referring to your kids or spouses’ everyday needs. I’m talking about those things that you know are a waste of your time but you do them anyway because you want to be nice to someone or you want to be accepted into a group or community. You weren’t born with a cape. You can’t do everything. If you know it’s not going to better your life than don’t feel obligated to drop everything and do it. Like the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”.

Standing up for yourself doesn’t mean you have to become a rigid and selfish person. I think it means you make yourself a priority in order to be successful in your endeavors and to use your time to do the things you enjoy.

Have a wonderful 2017!

Keshia Pavey

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