Apologies SA community, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t narrow down my intent for 2017 to one word. I googled and ‘thesaurused’ (yes, I made that word up), but in trying to encapsulate all I want to achieve and focus on this year, I just couldn’t find that one word that covered everything. So I’m breaking the rules a little here and going with two (or technically three if you count the ‘and’ in between!). 2017 for me is all about ‘surprising and delighting.’
Now having said that, I know the first thing that comes to mind is that I’ve just reeled out one of those trendy customer focused marketing strategies. You’re absolutely right. But in my mind, here’s how I want to apply this to my own personal and professional endeavours this year:
Surprising
Late last year I started a role in a new Australian institution. Previously, I’d worked for eleven rewarding years across a range of roles at my past university. It was a tough call to make – branching out from a comfort zone of knowing the who’s who, the what’s what, and finally having worked out all the best spots for coffee. But I’m now full swing into my new position. I’m making new contacts, and carrying a map everywhere I go so I don’t get completely lost at my new campus. All jokes aside, however, this year is all about:
Showcasing my skills, abilities and talents to my new employer,
Demonstrating and consolidating my experience in the student affairs space,
Networking and connecting with passionate individuals near and far (get in touch!),
Soaking up opportunities to conduct research, and employ innovation and best-practice in my role, and,
Continuing to focus on ongoing opportunities for professional development and growth in this industry (through training, courses, conferences and writing blog posts).
In doing so I want to prove to myself – and hopefully my new supervisor and the industry in the process – that I’ve got lots to contribute. I want to show I have an important role to play (as we all do!) in value-adding to the student affairs field.
Delighting
Finally, I want to take the time to appreciate and delight in everything that’s going on around me in my own life this year. This means anything and everything from:
Embracing my significantly reduced transit to work time (from 3 hours a day to only 45 minutes),
Valuing the new time I now have in my daily schedule for exercise and self-care,
Enjoying the diverse range of tasks that now form part of my working day,
Appreciating the new friendships I’ve formed at work and through various recent travels,
Looking forward to future travel adventures (Mexico and Cuba July 2017 here I come!),
Savouring every opportunity I have to spend time with my husband, family and friends, and finally,
Celebrating the simple (perhaps cliché) things like a sunny day, the compliment from a random stranger, the smile you get from a friend, or that delicious chocolate biscuit you ate at morning tea!
So there you have it. Strictly speaking, it’s not a #onewordSA. But I plan to make ‘surprising and delighting’ one New Year’s resolution I actually keep!
This post is part of our #OneWordSA series for January. Student affairs professionals are goal-oriented, change positive, individuals. One word mantras for 2017 are a great way to create focus in the new year. Find out what all kinds of pros are choosing as their #onewordSA this year. For more info, please see Sabina’s intro post. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series too!
