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Tag: new year's resolutions

  • Rabbi Angela Buchdahl on Rosh Hashanah, and a return to “our better selves”

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    On the eve of the Jewish New Year, we have thoughts from Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York. Her new book, “Heart of a Stranger,” is about her journey to becoming the first Asian American to be ordained as a rabbi.

    At Rosh Hashanah, we count the years since God created the world, this year being the year 5,786 (give or take a few billion years!).

    While this is a season of joy and community gathering, the New Year also begins a season of atonement, where we take an accounting of who we are, and how we can do better. We believe that, with repentance, people – and societies – can change.

    This idea of taking stock as we approach a New Year may sound familiar. Many Americans make New Year’s resolutions on January 1: Resolving to learn a new skill, lose 15 pounds, or call their mother more often.

    This examination happens on Rosh Hashanah, too, but magnified. Jews come together and reflect for hours in synagogue, literally beating our chests as we read through a scripted litany of ways we have fallen short: For spreading lies or hateful speech; for acting callously towards others; for selfishness and greed. The list goes on.

    But importantly, we don’t confess individually. We do it communally. We take responsibility for one another, and hold each other accountable.

    / Credit: Pamela Dorman Books

    Sounds like it could be an unpleasant way to celebrate a New Year! But it’s a fundamentally hopeful message: There is joy in knowing we can change.

    This repentance in Hebrew is called Teshuvah, which literally means “return.” What are we returning to?

    To our better selves. To who we know we can be, as human beings, and as a society.

    Imagine if we, as a country, could make teshuvah together? Not pointing fingers to the other side, saying, You’re the problem. But collectively:

    We have ignored the vulnerable. We have normalized mass violence. We have celebrated the death of opponents. We have rewarded outrage over understanding. We have forgotten how to grieve, and how to hope together.

    On the cusp of this New Year, I know we can return, to the best in ourselves, to the best in our country, to the goodness, compassion and generosity that this nation has shown me, as an immigrant, Korean female rabbi.

    Wishing you L’Shana Tova.

    WEB EXCLUSIVE: Rabbi Angela Buchdahl with a song for Rosh Hashanah (YouTube Video)
    As the Jewish calendar marks Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, of the Central Synagogue in New York City, offers “Sunday Morning” viewers a performance of the song “Return Again” by Shlomo Carlebach.

        
    For more info:

    “Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging” by Angela Buchdahl (Pamela Dorman Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available Oct. 25 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.orgRabbi Angela Buchdahl, Central Synagogue, New York

          
    Story produced by Lucie Kirk. Editor: Remington Korper. 

    Nature: Piping plovers in Maine

    Rabbi Angela Buchdahl on Rosh Hashanah, and a return to “our better selves”

    Extended interview: Doja Cat

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  • 50 Questions to Ask Your Business Before the New Year | Entrepreneur

    50 Questions to Ask Your Business Before the New Year | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We naturally begin to review things as our focus shifts to the new year (or a new fiscal year in any season). Assessing, lamenting, dreaming, dreading… Maybe it’s a big initiative that someone in your leadership is spearheading, or maybe it’s something entirely your responsibility to steer.

    Regardless, I wanted to create a set of comprehensive prompts, written in plain language, that hopefully stir up some fruitful reflection, as well as a way to summarize and prioritize them into goals at the end. I’ve collected the prompts into categories to keep us focused.

    The goal isn’t to have a thoughtful response to every prompt but to pay attention to which prompts resonate most with you — and why. Every stone you turn over won’t uncover a gem, but one of them will, and that’s all that matters.

    Brand identity

    1. As our brand leaders, what do we value most in the world?

    2. How would the world be different if our brand grew to become a household name?

    3. If our brand were a person, how would we describe its personality?

    4. How would an outsider describe what makes us unique?

    5. Does our brand reflect the needs and aspirations of our target audience?

    Competitive brandscape

    6. Which of our competitors do we want to become more like? (Think of these as a “north star.”)

    7. Which of our competitors do we want to become less like? (We call this a “south star.”)

    8. Has our market position changed over the past year? How so?

    9. What aspects of our company truly differentiate us from our competitors? List everything that comes to mind.

    10. Are there any emerging trends in our industry that we should consider embracing in the year ahead?

    Last year’s brand performance

    11. What achievements are we most proud of in the past year?

    12. Which strategies or initiatives were most successful?

    13. What were some of our most frustrating setbacks or obstacles?

    14. How have our customers’ perceptions of our brand changed?

    15. In the last year, have we received helpful customer feedback?

    Related: Your Most Burning Questions About Personal Branding, Answered

    Customer insights

    16. How would you describe our ideal customer? Get granular.

    17. What does our customer want? And what do they want more than that? (Keep asking that second question until you run out of responses.)

    18. Where do our customers tend to hang out?

    19. How do our customers prefer to interact with us?

    20. What’s the health of our touchpoints with customers? (Think customer service, support, etc.)

    Talk tracks and messaging

    21. Are we speaking our customer’s language?

    22. Are we offering enough consistency and variety in our messaging?

    23. When did we compellingly tell our brand’s story last?

    24. Does content marketing play a role in our communications strategy? Should it?

    25. Are there words or phrases we consistently use that we should rework?

    Digital presence and social media

    26. In the last year, how have we tried to improve our SEO?

    27. Is our website effective in converting visitors?

    28. Which social platforms seem most beneficial for our brand to interact with prospective customers?

    29. Do we have a content calendar or rhythm to posting on socials?

    30. How can we be more consistent on these platforms?

    Product and service evaluation

    31. How would you rate our product/service’s ability to meet customer expectations?

    32. In the last year, what feedback have we received about our offerings?

    33. How can we enhance our product/service quality?

    34. Is there anything we can wrap-around our product/service to delight our customers?

    35. Are there opportunities to flex from predominantly service into a product, or vice versa?

    Internal culture

    36. Does our internal culture reflect the diversity of our customer base?

    37. How aligned is our team around our brand values?

    38. Does our team feel engaged and motivated, or perhaps lacking in certain areas?

    39. What professional development opportunities can we provide in the next year?

    40. How can we actively improve our recruitment and retention?

    Financial health

    41. What is the current financial health of our brand?

    42. Are we charging enough (or too much) for our product/service?

    43. Are there any creative ways to reallocate our budget to improve our operations next year?

    44. Which new revenue streams could we explore?

    45. What are our financial goals for the upcoming year?

    Related: How to Ask Yourself Better Questions in the New Year

    Innovation

    46. What new cultural trends should we prepare for? (Think AI, Web3, etc.)

    47. How can we promote a culture of innovation within our company?

    48. Are there any strategic partnerships that could benefit our brand?

    49. How will we measure success in the coming year? Should we schedule quarterly reviews of these questions?

    And lastly — read through all of your responses to the previous 49 prompts and:

    50. Dream up a list of five goals for the next year. Get specific.

    Take the guardrails off your mind momentarily and allow yourself to dream big. We often overestimate what we can get done in a week but underestimate what can happen in a year. Dream dreams that your future self might thank you for. Be specific. Use measurable language.

    Related: Setting Measurable Goals Is Critical to Your Strategic Plan (and Your Success). Here’s Why.

    After you have your five goals, prioritize them, listing them in order of significance and how impactful they’ll be to your brand’s growth over the next 12 months. Then, cross out the bottom two.

    This will provide focus and keep three primary objectives at the front and center for you. Now that you have your top three, write the first actionable step under each. What’s the smallest — but most apparent — step you can take towards each goal?

    And look at that: You’re already on your way to a brighter year ahead.

    What’s the best that could happen?

    Related: 16 Powerful Quotes to Unlock Change in the New Year

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    John Emery

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  • High-tech resolutions: CNET’s Dan Ackerman talks best goal-oriented gadgets for 2023

    High-tech resolutions: CNET’s Dan Ackerman talks best goal-oriented gadgets for 2023

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    Many Americans are already thinking about their New Year’s resolutions, and most say they’re making their health a top priority.

    A new survey shows people are looking to exercise more, eat healthier and lose weight, according to market and consumer research company Statista. They’re also hoping to save money and spend more time with friends and family, Statista’s survey shows. 

    Dan Ackerman, an editorial director at CNET, joined “CBS Mornings” on Thursday to share tips on how technology can help people reach those goals in the new year. 

    The first item on the list is a virtual reality headset. Ackerman said VR headsets now offer a variety of features that can help people get motivated about their health- and fitness-related resolutions.

    “That sounds crazy, but there are headsets that are wireless and lightweight,” he said.

    The latest VR headsets feature exercise programs, such as boxing programs and even music programs for those who enjoy dancing. 

    “I’ve seen people lose a ton of weight, do a ton of aerobic exercise with something like the Oculus or the Meta Quest 2,” Ackerman said.

    Next, for people who want to get organized, he suggested a Kindle Scribe, a new version of the Amazon tablet that allows for note-taking on the actual device.

    “You can actually make all your notes on it, you can do your journals on it. I’ve started my to-do list on it,” Ackerman said. “I find that if I write something, I remember it better than if I type it. But this way I don’t have to carry around a bunch of notebooks and papers and stuff. I can just keep reusing this.”

    As for people who want to stop losing things like their keys and cell phones, Ackerman suggested Apple’s AirTag. But, he said, people should get one of those along with an accessory, such as keychains and wallet cases.

    “If you have one, you kind of need one of these accessories for it. It makes it so much more useful,” he said, noting that AirTags cost about $29 and accessories typically range from $10 to $20.

    For those who want to combine high tech and low tech to remember passwords but don’t like password managing programs, Ackerman said a simple password notebook, costing around $5 to $25, is the way to go.

    “I used to make fun of my mother and people for using a password notebook, where you actually wrote the passwords down, but I’ve come around,” Ackerman said. “Now I agree that it’s actually OK because it’s one physical copy, you know where it is, you’re not emailing yourself the passwords, not putting them in a text file. 

    “You can maintain the security of this one little notebook by keeping it in your house locked up,” he said.

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  • Want to break a bad habit? Here’s what science says

    Want to break a bad habit? Here’s what science says

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    Ian Hamilton is an associate professor of addiction and mental health at the University of York and Sally Marlow is an addictions researcher at King’s College London.

    It’s a new year and many people are in the mood for making a fresh start. And that often means giving something up (cigarettes, alcohol, junk food). Unfortunately, the odds of sticking with new year’s resolutions are not good. Come February, 80% of people will have given up giving up. So what can we learn from the 20% who make it?

    Some might just be lucky, but most – whether they realize it or not – will be using techniques based on scientific evidence. While you might feel you have little in common with people who overcome drug dependency, you can benefit from the techniques that have been shown to help this group.

    The two Ps

    Perseverance underpins most stories of successful change, and it can take anywhere from six to 30 attempts to quit for those dependent on drugs to become abstinent. While these numbers might seem off-putting, it’s important to be realistic about the need to persevere. Incremental change is known to be superior to overly ambitious targets – appealing as they might be.

    This leads to the second “p” — planning. Conventional wisdom suggests that planning improves the chances of success, but there is evidence that unplanned attempts to quit smoking can be just as successful. Good news for anyone embarking on an impromptu attempt to change.

    So although spontaneous attempts can be successful for smokers, picking the right day to start changing other habits is likely to play a part. We know that motivation and energy fluctuate, so think about when you will have maximum levels of both. Starting well gives the initial encouragement needed to get to day two.

    Learn from lapsing

    Having a lapse shouldn’t be viewed as a failure or used as an excuse to give up. It can be tempting to view change in a binary way — success or failure. Instead, view a lapse as an opportunity to gain insight, reflecting as honestly as possible on why the lapse happened and how this could be avoided or counteracted on the next attempt at change. Research has repeatedly shown us that these processes are crucial for changing ingrained habits, so much so that in the world of addiction, treatment is often referred to as “relapse prevention“, to acknowledge that treatment is as much about preventing the negative as it is accentuating the positive.

    High levels of self-efficacy (a belief and confidence in personal ability) when trying to change behavior predict ultimate success. Factors that increase self-efficacy include self-talk (“I can do this”), previous success at changing other behavior or habits, and affirmations from others.

    Cultural differences can influence how comfortable and skilled an affirmation is. The way Americans routinely affirm each other is in contrast to those in the U.K. who tend to be suspicious of affirmations.

    Believing change is possible can be undermined by “anticipatory anxiety” – when a person expects and fears withdrawal symptoms when changing a habit, such as smoking. The anticipated discomfort is usually greater than the actual experience but can paralyze any attempt to test reality. Rather than focusing on what you are losing by giving up smoking or alcohol, think of what you will gain (more money, better sleep). A useful exercise to help assess personal benefits is the decision balance sheet.

    decision-balance-sheet.jpg
    Decision balance sheet. 

    Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


    Tell someone what you plan to do, you won’t want to let them or yourself down. Weight Watchers employ this type of social contract in some ways to encourage but also as a deterrent to relapse. Shame and guilt are powerful emotions that most people will try to avoid.

    So when it comes to adopting a scientific approach to change, the evidence provides some helpful tips. Be prepared for several change attempts, don’t be too ambitious, don’t keep your change a secret and allow yourself to be complimented and encouraged.

    Finally, today might be the right day to start. If you’ve only just decided, with motivation and energy on your side, your chances of ditching that bad habit are just as good as those who’ve spent weeks preparing. Making a change is relatively easy for most of us; maintaining that change is evidently a lot tougher. So while some might be lucky enough to make a change and stick to it, most of us will have to keep trying. The science suggests we’ll get there in the end.

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license and was originally published in 2020. 

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