Every new year, I’m faced with the same scary self-reflection question. “How can I challenge myself?

This was difficult for me to answer. How can we top 2019 at Alignstaffing?

Last year was remarkable. We surpassed sales goals, landed in newspapers and won two awards, and opened our second location in Baltimore, Maryland.

But we still have a long way to go.

It’s February, which is usually the time when we toss out our New Year’s Resolutions, quietly give up, and fall back into old habits. Don’t worry – I’m guilty of this trap too.

To get my motivation going again, I watched this TED Talk by Angela Duckworth “Grit: The power of passion and perseverance.”

In the video, she references statistics from studies across the nation that point to this conclusion:

 Success has nothing to do with intelligence. It’s about grit.

There it is. Our challenge for the year. But what is grit, and what does it mean for us?

It’s the ability to tap into your resilience, strength, and hope during challenging times. It’s why we every day we work towards filling gaps in our local job markets.

In Angela’s words, “Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Let’s adopt this mindset in 2020. Let’s stop counting success as a completed to-do list. Let’s focus on our failures and see how we can pivot for every task, big or small.

The Alignstaffing 2020 ‘Challenge Yourself Challenge’

Do not race your pace

Set long-term goals and check in weekly to see how much progress you’ve made. Progress > Perfection.

High vs. Low

Every week, take five minutes to write down your work highs and lows. For your ‘lows’ – write down a plan of action to correct it. Failure is a lesson learned.

Adopt a positive mindset

Unfortunately, negative events are non-negotiable in life. Change your response to them. A placement didn’t work out? Figure out what when wrong and encourage candidate feedback.

Now let’s pick back up our New Year’s resolutions and stay gritty. Remember, an obstacle is just another word for opportunity.

Cheers!

Aaron Copeland