Sital Ruparelia

Having spent the last 3 weeks in sunny Hong Kong and a very humid Singapore, I thought the UK weather would give me a shock to the system when I arrived back home.

But the weather has been very mild in the UK.

What has been a shock though is the general doom and gloom about the new year. Having spent 3 weeks in Asia, I’ve found the papers, the media and the general mood in the UK pretty depressing to say the least.

But despite the depressing predictions it’s worth pointing out that what happens to you this year is not wholly dependent on the economy.

It very much depends on YOU do. It can be the worst year yet – or the best. It all depends on how you think and act.

So as we begin a new year,  here are some questions for you to think about:

• What would happen if you decided that 2012 was going to be your best year yet?

• What if you invested 90 minutes this week to write down exactly where you want to be professionally, personally and financially by 31st December 2012? And then read and visualised your goals each day?

• What if you cut your consumption of mainstream media by 50% this year and avoided all that negative noise?

• What if you stayed away from moaning and whining colleagues, friends and family this year?

• What if you controlled ‘that voice’ in your head and decided that you’d stop being a self critic and instead become your biggest fan?

• What if you kept taking one small risk per day day and kept stepping outside your comfort zone all year?

• What if you kick-started your job search by taking my 21 day challenge?

• What if you started to act and think like a freelancer? (We’re all freelancers these days – even those with ‘permanent jobs’. The quicker you realise it, the better off you’ll be)

• What if you counted your blessings and appreciated what you have on a daily basis instead of focussing on what’s lacking? (after all – you get more of what you focus on)

• What if you labelled yourself as “lucky” this year? (People who think they’re lucky – often are. People who believe they’re ‘unlucky’ are always unlucky)

• What if you decided that you’d use the changing economy to reinvent your career and business?

• What if you chose to mentor and help one young person this year and give something back? (Remember – what goes around, comes around)

• What if you stopped worrying about what people thought of you? What if instead, you just did what you believe in your heart to be the right thing and tuned out the opinions of others?

• What if you listened to your intuition and gut instinct much more than other people?

• What if you decided to get serious about the way you used social media tools to strengthen your personal brand and find more job opportunities using platforms such as LinkedIn?

• What if you decided to be successful this year rather than being a perfectionist? What if you “went for it” when 80% certain instead of waiting for all your ducks to line up in a row?

• What if you chose to stop worrying about the past, stopped stressing about the future and simply focused on the present?

• What if you saw all the ‘bad things’ happening to you as either a lesson or a clue?

• What if you learned to accept change and uncertainty as the new norm? What if you learned to embrace change rather than fear it?

• What it you kept yourself nimble and flexible so that you could adapt to the volatile environment as it changes this year?

• What if you took the first baby steps in exploring that new career you’re drawn to instead of over-thinking it?

• What if you started that side-business now rather than ‘one day’? (You could find a new income stream, new career or new hobby that helps you tolerate a bad job)

• What if you took some big leaps this year? Instead of taking baby steps – what if you made some big changes and did some of the things you’ve being resisting?

• What if you stopped procrastinating about “that decision” you’ve been putting off and took the first step right NOW? (yes….. today)

If you followed through with the above points, there is a good chance that you’d be the most confident, authentic, likeable, well-networked version of yourself.

You see – no one can predict what will happen this year. Not even the experts. But what happens to YOU in 2012 year will largely be determined by how YOU react to the environment and the choices you make.  Make the right choices and it could well be your best year yet.

Happy new year.