New Year’s Resolutions: 2023

Are you making a resolution in the New Year? Studies show that more than half of all resolutions fail. That doesn’t have to be you. Identify the right resolution to improve your life, create a plan on how to reach it, and become part of the small group of people that successfully achieve their goal.

You will have the best chance of success in reaching your goal if you set a goal that’s doable and meaningful, too. According to the time management firm, Franklin Covey, one third of people that set New Year’s Resolutions don’t make it past the end of January. Resolutions can fail because they are not the right resolutions. Resolutions may be wrong for one of three main reasons:

It’s a resolution based on what someone else or society is telling you to change.
It’s too vague.
You don’t have a realistic plan for achieving your resolution.

When setting goals/resolutions, here are some guidelines to help direct you into making the right resolution and will help create the greatest chance of success.

Specific – Resolutions should be clear. Making a concrete goal is important.
Measurable – This may seem obvious if your goal is a fitness or a weight loss related resolution. It is also important if you are trying to cut back on something or set aside time in a day to work on a specific resolution.
Achievable – You can still have an overall big goal, however, trying to take too big of a step too fast can leave you frustrated, or affect other areas in your life to the point that your resolution takes over your life. Logging progress into a journal or making notes on your phone or in an app designed to help you track behaviors can reinforce the progress, no matter what your resolution may be.
Relevant — Is this a goal that really matters to you, and are you making it for the right reasons? Making a resolution out of the sense of self-hate or remorse or a strong passion in the moment, it usually doesn’t last long. If you build up a process where you are thinking harder about what’s good for you, you’re changing the structure of your life and also bringing people into your life who will reinforce that resolution.
Time-Bound – The timeline towards reaching your goal should be realistic. This may mean giving yourself enough time to accomplish smaller immediate goals set up to reach the overall goal. Charles Duhigg, author of “The Power of Habit” said, “If you’re building a habit, you’re planning for the next decade, not the next couple of months.”

Jennifer Kennedy, HR

By Jody Cottle, HIM Operations Supervisor

By Travis Henderson, Manager of Human Resources

It’s that time of year again! Leaves are changing, grocery stores are running out of Halloween candy, and political ads are everywhere.

In this day and age, politics can lead towards a lot of anxiety because of the contention and conflict that can stem from sharing one’s political opinions or beliefs. Having conversations and discussions about issues and current events are important things to do, but they can very easily transition from an informative discussion, to an unfriendly atmosphere.

So, during this political season, get out and vote. Educate yourself on the important issues coming up, as well as individuals seeking election. You may come across coworkers that have different opinions and viewpoints. Listen to those opinions, and be courteous to those individuals that are sharing those opinions. Because at the end of the day, different opinions stem from concern or problem solving of the current issues and challenges facing society. Because of this, it is important to hear those different opinions, and educate yourself on the different viewpoints of today’s issues.

Take advantage of your personal freedom and vote. Then have friendly conversations about the issues at hand. Remember respect and kindness when having these conversations. Treat others like coworkers and friends, instead of painting them inside of a box depending on what side of the aisle they sit on, and enjoy the beauties of democracy.

By Veronica Valdez, Financial Counselor II

“Kindness”

What is kindness? Who needs kindness? Are you kind to yourself? Kindness can increase your sense of connectivity with others, which can directly impact loneliness, improve low mood and enhance relationships in general.

Kindness is more than behavior. The art of kindness means harboring a spirit of helpfulness, as well as being generous and considerate, and doing so without expecting anything in return.

Many people think, “if I’m kind to this person maybe they will return the kindness and help me in things that I need.” Then they realize that many people do not return the kindness because they don’t think they need to.

Kindness is a quality of being; show others kindness by smiling, complimenting someone or just doing something nice. Help your coworkers when you see them struggling or just listen to them when they need to talk to someone.

When we practice kindness either to other people or towards ourselves, we can experience positive mental and physical changes through lowering stress levels and increasing the body’s production of feel-good hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin.

The most important kindness is to ourselves. How many of us are kind to ourselves? I know I am not. I can really be harsh to myself; even writing this article I was not being kind to myself. I was like, “no, don’t write that, it sounds awful,” or, “no, that idea is no good; no one will like it.”

We put ourselves last and always want to please other people. We need to accept compliments (which I have a hard time doing) and also believe in yourself.

Kindness can go far. This is why I would like to invite everyone at Madisonhealth to practice kindness to others or to yourself throughout the rest of the year. Here are some examples.

- Tell someone they are doing a great job
- Text someone a positive message
- Laugh until your belly hurts
- Go for a long walk
- Help your co-worker without being asked
- Exhibit kindness, even when in a hurry

Finally, I’d like to leave you with this quote: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” —Dalai Lama

Thanks,

Veronica Valdez

Financial Counselor

By Maddie Liddiard, Social Worker – August 26, 2022

For those of you that know me, you know that I am a pop culture buff. I am a firm believer that something in pop culture can be relevant and tied to a lesson of some sort. For those of you that don’t know me, well… you will soon discover my love of merging pop culture and mental health!

One of my favorite quotes comes from a movie that I am sure many of you have seen before. It is a classic film called Batman Begins. Batman is truly a great example for many things, but I am going to focus on is one important element. In the movie, Bruce Wayne is playing in the woods and ends up falling into a deep well. When his father comes to rescue him, he says “Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up again.”

Many of us working in healthcare (especially during the pandemic) have often felt like we have fallen into a deep well. It can be extremely hard to want to keep going, to keep fighting, and keep pushing on. Giving up and surrendering seems like the easiest option. But, as Thomas Wayne so eloquently puts it, we fall so that we can learn to pick ourselves back up again. We become stronger than we were. We learn from our mistakes. We grow, we change, we learn, and we continue to fight.

Sometimes the fight is easier with a little help. It’s okay to lean on friends, family, and a personal counselor. Times are hard, and everyone is doing their best. We need to support one another, and help those who have fallen in a deep well. Batman did not become Batman by relying solely on himself, he had a lot of help from sidekicks and his butler.

In short, what I am trying to say is this: we fall so that we can pick ourselves back up again and become better versions of ourselves. It is okay to ask for help, and please be kind to others. You never know what someone is going through. Oh, and one more important note… There are a lot of lessons to be learned from pop culture. You never know till you start looking!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Maddie Liddiard, Social Worker