When every season looks the same, there’s not enough opportunity for change, surprise, and personal development, something many people fear. When you live with the seasons, you have the incredible opportunity to live four lives that bring about new energy.
Medium.com, Sophie Radvan
With this in mind, for many of us January’s cold temperatures translate to more time spent indoors. An opportunity to reflect, learn and plan. Business-wise you can connect with mentors, get professional advice, and prepare actionable steps for the months ahead.
The bad news as we enter the new year is Covid doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon; the good news is that you, as a businessperson, have your Covid blueprint in place. You are past panic and confusion; instead, have the tools to enable you to act, not react.
With a few simple adjustments, 2022 can be a productive year.
Social media has got a little addictive, so why not spend less time on your personal social accounts and swap them for more creative pursuits?
- Set a goal to read more books, both fiction and business books.
- Try a new hobby to boost your creativity.
- Write – blog posts, articles, daily journal
- Learn something new by watching videos like TED Talks. Whether video or podcast, tap into new people, you have not listened to before.
While this is not an ideal time for a large scale overhaul of your business marketing, instead, look at improving what is already in place. The best way to do this is from your laptop. For day to day efficiency, cell phones rule but constantly channelling all of your business through this relatively narrow worldview can be a mistake. Instead, a computer allows for a big picture perspective of your website copy, Facebook cover, social ads. You can open different browsers, do some research and work on what needs tweaking and freshening up for 2022.
Finally, the last couple of years have put our emotions to the test, but you shouldn’t counter this by feeling that you have to be constantly happy and cheerful.
We define toxic positivity as the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state across all situations. The process of toxic positivity results in the denial, minimization, and invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience.
Toxic Positivity: The Dark Side of Positive Vibes – Samara Quintero, LMFT, CHT and Jamie Long, PsyD
To be human is to experience both positive and negative emotions. Times of feeling overwhelmed, worried, or having self-doubt is part of being an entrepreneur. However, it is essential to have an outlet or support person/team in place, work through it, and move forward.
Personally and professionally trust yourself, trust your instincts.
RESOURCES
Five Ways Reading Improves Writing – MasterClass
The 21 Best Podcasts To Listen To in 2022 – The Manuel
How Smart Entrepreneurs Can Prepare for 2022 – Goldie Chan, Forbes
Jill Crossland is a business and marketing consultant who can take your business and social media to the next level.