New Year’s reSOLUTIONS: Carpe Diem!

With a vow to go where life takes him, Lawrence Mathews shares his goals for the new year

By Lawrence Mathews

Editor’s Note: Mathews contributed last year to our New Year’s reSOLUTION series. Revisit the hopes he shared for 2014 here.

It is hard to believe how fast this year has flown by. Here we are again, writing about New Year’s resolutions. I reviewed my resolution write-up, Promises to the Future, from last year, and was surprised to see that I was successful in my resolutions except for one.

My wife and I did not go on the Mediterranean cruise. She wanted to visit the East Coast instead. This we did. We started in Manhattan, and ended up in Washington, D.C. We really enjoyed this trip.

I make every effort to make sure that my resolutions agree with the rolling five-year plan I live by. This keeps me on target for achieving a clear set of goals.

So, here goes.  Here are my resolutions for 2015:

Seize the Day

As we go along life’s journey, we never know when we will be presented with some new and challenging opportunity. No matter how we might try to ignore it and stay in our comfort zone, it stays right there in front of us and forces us to make a career decision. These career-shaping opportunities do not come along often; when they do, you must decide which road to go down.

This is what I was presented with when I decided to pursue my new career opportunity. Now that I have made that decision, there is no looking back. I must make sure that I do not shortchange others who now depend on me. This I plan to do.

Balance the Day

“Career-shaping opportunities do not come along often; when they do, you must decide which road to go down.”

Additionally, I intend to ensure that my new opportunity does not affect the time I spend with my family. I have made a major career change, and now I have to make sure that this does not affect my work-life balance.

I continue to remind myself of my priorities: God, family and work. I will focus on not letting distractions interfere with my priorities.

This new opportunity will be extremely challenging and a great deal of fun. I just must be mindful of my priorities.

Live a Healthy Lifestyle

This is essential for me to achieve any other resolution. We are not any good to anyone, especially our families, if we do not exercise, eat healthy, take our vitamins and eliminate the stress in our lives. Your company does not need you if you are always calling in sick.

I will make sure that I continue my routine of getting up at 4:30 a.m. to work out, having a solid breakfast, skipping lunch, taking my vitamins and then attacking the day.

Finish Our Book

One thing that I have always believed is that the well-rounded person has interests in their lives that they must pursue, or they will become pretty boring. There is more to life than work.

One of my long-term goals is to complete my manuscript, “The First Day… The Art of Surviving Being Downsized, Rightsized, or Whatever They Want to Call It.” I am putting this project on hold, however, while first working with my literary society (B.A.R., Brothers Also Read) to complete a mentoring book. We should have this B.A.R. manuscript done this year.

If all goes according to plan, I will have two books that will fit nicely into my tour of the country as a motivational speaker.

The Beginning

Let me just conclude by wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year! Follow your dreams; you might be surprised where they lead.

 

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Lawrence Mathews, former First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, served as Chief Financial Officer of the Institute for Population Health. He has been selected to join the incoming County of Wayne, Michigan (the 11^th largest county in the nation), Chief Executive Officer team to chair two committees as a member of his transition team. He was featured in Issue No. 8 of Forefront magazine.