No way to remain and retain

How is your new year so far? Hopefully, you are off to a good start. On the last Sunday of 2017, I was blessed to hear the message preached in our local church. The message was timely as I prepared to start the new year.

One of my key takeaways from the message is that we cannot afford to be complacent. We need to be hungry in order to grow in all aspects of our lives. If you have a business, you cannot expand it if you are not hungry for more. A person who is hungry will surely do something to satisfy his hunger. Do you want to change something in your life? You need to be hungry enough to act on it.

Many of us, including myself, would want to have a healthier body, but many times we fail to achieve our goal. It could be because we are not hungry enough to achieve it. In my case, I had to make a firm decision to address my health concerns. While our fridge contained sweets that accumulated over the holidays, I decided to stick to my meal plan. Was it easy? Definitely not. My hunger to lose weight and be healthier this year drove me to take on this challenge.

Our desire to make changes should be intentional. We need to persevere in whatever goal we have set to achieve. To move toward our respective goals, we need to unload our baggage. Let us not be burdened by our failures and successes in the past. Do not let failures dampen our confidence. Likewise, do not let our successes lead us to brashness. As the saying goes, do not rest on your laurels. In these fast-changing times, we need new strategies and ways of doing things. What worked before may no longer work now. In the pursuit of our goals, here are some things that we need to consider.

1. Focus. We need to keep our eyes on the goal. Write it down and make them simple. As we write down our goals, identify which ones are important and those that are irrelevant. We must focus our energy only on important things. Respond only to the important things, and do not be weighed down by what is irrelevant to our goals. This will help us focus on where to spend our energy. These choices may include people around you who are not willing to take the journey with you. You need to move forward, even if that means that you will leave some people behind.

2. Sow seeds now. Plan for what you want to achieve. Do something different. Start with new ways of doing things. Do not expect change if you still do the same thing all over again. Be brave enough to do something big, something different. If you want to soar higher, you must go deeper in the things that you want to achieve and have a deeper foundation. If your goal is to strengthen your relationship with your children, your wife, or your God, then sow the seeds of time now. To make it grow like a tall tree, you need to water it and take care of it regularly. In fact, you may need to do more if you want to get a good harvest.

3. Do not give up. Give your all to whatever your goal is. If, along the way, you encounter a hump, do not be discouraged. Be patient and persevere. Persistence and patience pay off. While on the journey to achieving your goal, surround yourself with people who will encourage, uplift and push you. There is no time for grumblers or complainers. Be with those who have achieved more and want to achieve much more. If your journey to achieving your goal is easy, you might not have set the right goal. Your goal should stretch you beyond your limits. Do not be afraid to go into uncharted territory. Allow yourself to discover new things. Never ever give up.

4. Be thankful. I believe that we always have blessings to be thankful for. Your small achievements as you try to reach your ultimate goal are victories that you should be thankful for. This attitude of gratitude will give you the energy to move forward.

Surround yourself with grateful people. Let their energy affect you. Gratefulness is contagious. Infect yourself with people who are thankful regardless of the situation or people who can look for things to be thankful for in the midst of challenges.

I hope that you have a goal that will stretch you this year. I believe you can achieve it with focus, strong determination, persistence, patience and gratefulness. If you want to grow and achieve your goals, there is no way to remain and retain.

Paz Malubay is a partner of P&A Grant Thornton. She is also the EVP and managing director for Payroll of P&A Grant Thornton Outsourcing, Inc. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory and outsourcing firms in the Philippines, with 21 partners and over 850 staff members. For your comments, please email paz.malubay@ph.gt.com or PAGrantThornton.marketscomm@ph.gt.com. For more information about P&A Grant Thornton, visit our website www.grantthornton.com.ph.

As published in The Manila Times, dated 17 January 2018