(Credit: News Corp)

The symbol displayed on the Harbour Bridge on New Year’s Eve was a blue heart in a red light globe. This symbol has inspired me to live life compassionately and given me great hope on a number of levels.

Given the Sydney Lindt Café siege, followed by the terrorist attacks in Paris, the people of both cities have responded by uniting with open hearts of compassion. I felt inspired to see people connecting on such a human level across two cities on opposite sides of the world.

Whatever is going on in our lives, freedom is so precious. The right to choose, the right to live peacefully, the right to go about our daily lives being good people at work and at home, being human, loving each other and maintaining integrity.

Even in the midst of such horrific tragedy there is always hope and this has motivated me to make the decision to stay very connected to the people who matter most to me at work and home this year.

What images or symbols represent your hopes, dreams and aspirations for 2015?

 

Work on your energy

Whilst we are getting our minds back to work in January and thinking about the days and months ahead, remember the 5 Tips to Recharge for 2015 (Reflect, Reconnect, Relax, Re-energise and Refresh) I suggested in the December blog for the holiday break.

Over the Christmas break and into the New Year I have felt a renewed sense of energy by following this process. A ritual like this can also be used for rest and renewal on a daily basis, on weekends and for mini-breaks.

 

Think and dream big

At the start of each year we tend to go straight to setting new goals i.e. getting fit, losing weight, getting a career promotion. Sadly these goals are rarely achieved as they don’t provide enough inspiration which often leads to boredom and a failure to follow through.

So, instead of setting goals for the year ahead I would like to challenge you in a different way for 2015.

When we fly, we travel across great land and sea masses and realise how small we really are. We can see the beautiful patterns flowing into each other and this helps let our minds wander so we can gain the bigger picture. This new perspective provides an expansion in our thinking and allows us to see new possibilities beyond our daily activities.

 

 

How are you going to get a new perspective to take that big picture look at yourself and your life to start thinking about the possibilities of what you would like to achieve in 2015?

What is the image for your inspirational big picture goal this year?

Dare to dream for what you want and start asking yourself:

·        Why will this be meaningful for me?

·        How will I turn this into reality?

·        What will be required for me to achieve this?

·        What plans are in place or require fine tuning to make this happen?

·        How will I maintain perspective?

 

 

This year we are going to challenge you to find inspiration in your life with blogs that provide practical support for your quests for performance and career fulfilment. At the same time I want to support you to open your heart at work and home so you can stay real and connected.

Our next two blogs will address feedback and planning for increased productivity.

We love feedback so please let us know what blogs you liked the most in 2014 and topics you would like covered in 2015.

 

Best regards,
Virginia Mansell

About the author: Virginia Mansell, Executive Chairman, Stephenson Mansell Group.

Virginia Mansell is an expert and thought leader in executive coaching, mentoring and leadership.  She is the author of The Focused Executive, an important resource for CEOs and senior executives determined to perform at their very best. The 2nd Edition is now available with a new chapter on high performing teams.

In 1998, Virginia established The Mansell Group to provide coaching and leadership development services.  In 2005, she merged this business with The Stephenson Partnership to create Stephenson Mansell Group, arguably Australia’s longest-established executive development firm.  Over the last fifteen years, the Stephenson Mansell Group has worked with 5000 executives in more than 500 organisations in Australia and internationally including 30 of Australia’s top 50 companies.

In addition to her own experience as a business leader, Virginia brings to her role over 30 years in human resource management, counselling psychology, psychotherapy and organisational consulting.