Remembering what matters
The end of the year is always a fun and exciting time, filled with reflections of the year that was, and hope for a joy-filled new year. For Young Professionals, the end of the year is more than just wearing your favorite ugly sweater at the work holiday party or dress down day: It is a great opportunity to reflect on your successes of 2019 and set goals for a more successful 2020.
In writing this article, I had no trouble putting together the “what to do” and “how to do it”. But I kept getting stuck on the most important part of the equation: “why?”. I then thought to myself, what measures success, anyway? What if my advice for someone to be more successful doesn’t fit with their idea of success? Most importantly, why do I do what I do, and how does that tie back to the goals I set for myself?
That’s when this article changed completely, in the same way my career – and my life – changed on July 9th, 2019. That day was by far the most successful day of my year, and I barely looked at my email. (My wife knows me too well for me to say I didn’t look at all.) That day, we welcomed our son, Jacob Raymond Mattone, into the world. From that moment on, my “why” was set in stone. And my measuring stick for success in 2020 and beyond? Making sure I do what I can do to be a good father, provider and role model for my son. He is what matters to me. He is my “why”.
For a more successful 2020, I’m going to come to work everyday with a positive attitude, so that Jake learns the importance of doing what you love. I’m going to do more to help my colleagues, so that he learns the value of teamwork. I will use the resources of our Credit Union and my skill set to help more people, so that my son sees the positive impact of doing good for others, and how good it feels to help. And I’m going to do a better job balancing my career and my life. Because I’ve had years in my career where I thought I was successful, but looking back it was someone else’s idea of success, not mine. Time that I wasted chasing something I didn’t really want; which I could have dedicated to the people and things I truly care about.
Too often as young people, we work ourselves to the bone so that we can be successful; reach tangible goals; thrive in a competitive business landscape, and earn a good living. For YPs in the Credit Union movement, we take pride in helping people achieve their financial goals and aspirations. But why? It’s not for the paycheck or for the Fridays that we can wear jeans to work. There is more to what you do in your Credit Union Career, and remembering what matters to you and working off of your “why” will lead you to your most successful year, whatever you define that to be. So for a more successful 2020, the advice I can give to you is this: Write down what matters most to you. Write down your purpose. And go out every day, with 100% effort, confidence and focus towards living your “why”.
