General resolves, or, How I will make 2014 awesome.

2013 was, in a nutshell, alright.

I made dozens of new friends. I learned to cook. I started writing a blog, and I believe I became a better writer.

I was more stressed than I’d ever been before. I was always afraid of failure. I spent so many nights either apathetic to my work or praying for miracles. I never missed a deadline, but I never quite did my best. I still did well, because producing under pressure is a by-product of being a “good” procrastinator. I still felt guilty, because that is the primary symptom of all procrastinators.

It felt great to beat the odds, even if I couldn’t beat the demon that was the fear of failure.

There’s nothing I’d love more than to make a sweeping declaration, here and now, that I would never again let that fear hold me back. It would make me feel good and impart to all of you the hope that I believe you’ve come to expect from this blog. The hope that we can all be better.

Yes, we can all be better. That part is true.

But it starts with a belief. More than any quotation, any philosophy, anything at all, it starts with one belief: it’s the belief that you are in control.

There is something alluring about the belief that we are not in control. The belief that I need to be in the mood to work or have the right circumstances to produce. The problem is that, for me, this mood or these circumstances always rose up as the clock counted down.

No more.

Here’s the deal I’m going to propose to you. I’m going to spend one year taking full responsibility. I might still fear failure. But I refuse to let it hold me back anymore.

No more “doing my best, given the circumstances” when I  am the one who brought those circumstances about.

No more “being busy”. Busyness is an excuse. “Oh, why couldn’t you read that paper to know what’s actually happening in the world?” You weren’t busy, you were lazy, and to the point above, you chose not to read it. Being legitimately busy is one thing. Using it as an excuse is quite another.

I have resolutions, which I’ll share next time. If you’re making goals, remember to write them down and to structure them. If you’re so inclined, post them in the comments as a public commitment, and check back in a year to post an update.

Let’s make 2014 awesome. Let’s do it together.

                                                                                                                                       

As an aside, I wanted to say how thankful I am that you took the time to read this post and all the others. I didn’t start blogging to help people, but I continued because I did. What I didn’t expect was to open up as much as I did, and for the blogs to hold me to account as much as they did.

Thank you for reading. Thank your for inspiring me to be better. Have a happy and safe December 31^st, and until next time, C-Suite Dreams!

Editor’s note: If you understand the reference in my title, you’re wonderful. If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.

Santa is real, or, The importance of symbols.

I still believe in Santa Claus. Allow me to explain.

Every year, the halls are decked, cookies are baked, and Christmas specials are watched.

Every year, more importantly, people donate millions of dollars in the form of gifts, food, and volunteer hours.

Make no mistake, Christmas is magical.

What could it be about a season that makes us give so warmly? After all, short of a terrible disaster, such a spirit of goodwill towards our neighbours is hardly ever observed.

I believe that Santa Claus symbolizes all the good of this wonderful season. There is something more than extraordinary in the way that he makes children’s imaginations light up, in the way he makes their eyes widen and their smiles wider.

This is a time of year in which hope seems to be the default state of mind for many. It’s incredible really, that we can spend so much time during the year afraid or stressed or unhappy, yet for one moment, however brief, we can look around or look up and be filled with wonder.

That sense of magic, that feeling of wonder, that inclination to hope, that is what Santa Claus represents, to me and to any other person who wants to believe.

See, it doesn’t matter that Santa is logically impossible. It doesn’t matter that it isn’t possible for a man to fly all around the world in one night and deliver presents to every good little boy and girl. In the context of symbols in general, do details matter at all? What matters is the effect that symbols have on people; in Santa’s case, people are often inspired to be kinder or more patient.

Now, to everyone who is imagining the myriad of ways in which images of Santa Claus inspire people to act in ways exactly opposite of kindness or patience, remember that Santa is a symbol. If I want Santa Claus to be a symbol of hope, he is. If I interpret Christmas as a time of materialism, and see Santa as the manifestation of that, then that’s what he is.

Like so many other things, symbols are a choice. We choose to believe and so we give them power. We choose not to believe and so leave them as a red and white costume.

Would Christmas still be a time of wonder and happiness without Santa Claus? Almost certainly, in no small part because of He who Christmas is eponymously named. But, is Christmas better because of the existence of Santa Claus?

Like I said, it’s your choice.

Editor’s note: I’m incredibly proud I made it through this piece without making a single Batman reference. If you could not help but make the connection, then this is likely the reason we’re friends.

If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.

“That’s easy!”, or, Look how far you’ve come.

Most of you reading this are probably tied down with exams or end of the year work projects. If this is true, then I want to thank you for giving me some of your time.

You’re probably pretty stressed. You’ve worked hard and some of the material still doesn’t make sense, or parts of the project just aren’t coming together.

Imagine for a second that you ran into someone in first year or a new company hire. You see them with an introductory textbook, or you know they’ve been hard at work on their first project. And you see that they’re struggling.

Whether wanting a break from your own difficult work, or just wanting to help, you offer an explanation that’s brilliant in how simple it is.

“So that’s the State of Nature?” they ask, in awe of how well you explained it.

“I can’t believe I was missing that analysis metric!” they say when you point out what seemed like an obvious flaw in their report.

And then you go back to your desk, pounding away on work that seems almost unfairly difficult, not realizing the significance of what you just did.

You helped them like it was nothing. Those concepts that were so difficult to them were once just as difficult for you. And look at you now, cutting through jargon like the veteran you are.

Whether your career is academic or professional, you need to see how far you’ve come. Sure you’re more frustrated than you’d like to be, but that shows that your mind is trying to learn. And the fact that you haven’t given up, that shows determination.

All of this shows you’ve got what it takes. Prove it. You know you can.

                                                                                                            

Editor’s note: I kept this one short on purpose, because as much as I appreciate your time, you really should be working. Remember, trying to find motivation to study is the same as procrastinating.

If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.