Five New Years Resolutions for the Social Work Professional

Another year in, another year out… Boy, that was fast!

Every year, the trendy thing is to make resolutions. Lose weight. Quit smoking. Get out of debt.… Laudible? Yes. Cliché? oui. However, the new year is a chance for renewal, change, and to reset and redirect ourselves.

Now, whether you stumbled on this post at the start of the new year or some other time, what follows is a list of behaviors I will continue doing this year to become a better social work professional.

1.  Give Selflessly

As a professional, I often try to give selflessly to sow the seeds of good will, with hopes that what blossoms is being seen as reliable, professional, and valuable. These are longer-term goals, and if I get there, great and if I don’t, oh well.

To give selflessly is to give to others without any expectation. Expectation often leads to disappointment, as we hope for a “thank you” or some other form of acknowledgment or recognition. If I have my hand out for a “thank you” or some other kudos, I will find myself very disappointed. Others may not have the same scruples as you to say “thanks”. And sometimes, people have other priorities at the moment that may prohibit them from reciprocating.

As a professional, I often try to give selflessly to sow the seeds of good will, with hopes that what blossoms is being seen as reliable, professional, and valuable. These are longer-term goals, and if I get there, great and if I don’t, oh well.

In social work practice, I give selflessly by offering encouragement, praise, and support to clients and colleagues. When I am asked to complete a task, if I am able to, I do it as quickly as I can. After all, there are only so many things I can do and I am a social worker, not a magician that can slow or add more time. There are some caveats to giving selflessly – In the previous example, I still put myself first by making sure that I do have time to follow through with the favor being asked.

Also, it’s good to be aware of social cues from others to see if the giving is a welcomed act. Your actions don’t want to result in another brick being laid on the road to hell.

2. Write More

I believe the writing flexes the part of your brain that allows for growth and exploration of depth.

Write for pleasure. Write for joy. Write for reflection and to promote personal growth. Write for the sake of your career. Write, write, write.

I am a big believer of journaling, and I often write in a personal journal about what I am feeling at this moment in my career. It gives a great bookmark to revisit later and see where I have been and to recalibrate my goals. I write when I am angry, sad, and also grateful. When I lament things that have not gone my way, I can come back to these thoughts later and make sense of whatever happened. In 2014, I find several of not-so-happy journal entries resolving themselves… I also see growth.

I believe the writing flexes the part of your brain that allows for growth and exploration of depth. For me, I am able to better analyze, develop insight, and process multiple things at once, which comes in handy when social working in practice or documenting my work. By writing more, the long-term benefits for me is that I am better able to express myself, for example, when writing concise, direct, and thorough case notes.

3. Show Gratitude

I am a very big believer in showing gratitude and saying thanks. I believe it strengthens relationships, as your recipient may also feel appreciated, valued, and important.

I recently got a compliment that made my year: “You’re one of the few people that response to me right away and follows through like they say they will.” I was very taken by this statement, as I was not expecting it.

In spite of my personal reflection above, I am a very big believer in showing gratitude and saying thanks. I believe it strengthens relationships, as your recipient may also feel appreciated, valued, and important. Just remember, saying things does not mean that your recipient will reciprocate the sentiment.

My goal this year is to be sending more thank you cards to people – this has more weight than an email or phone call. A handwritten and brief note often has more weight then the aforementioned, and is more memorable.

4. Pursue Ideas / Goals / Dreams

How do you want to be a better: social worker / partner / professional / person?.

Pursuit of one’s ideas, goals, or dreams, is a laudable effort and something that one should be doing every day.

Write your dreams down. Your ideas. Your goals. How do you want to be a better: social worker / partner / professional / person?

I write ideas down on paper… I’ve mentioned my Moleskine notebook and pen and paper is better than any app I have used to help me generate ideas. Plus, I have all my mojo in my notebook where greatness can come from even half-baked ideas. Sometimes I come back to those half-baked ideas later and bring them to fruition.

If you have an idea for an intervention, blog, or someone else’s dream, that’s okay too! “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Make them yours – unique, better, and tailored to your liking. Give credit where credit is due, but go full force with your plans.

Pursuing ideas, goals, and dreams means getting organized, making time, and collaborating. Keep your ideas on a white board, cork board, notebook, app, post-it notes, or whatever is a convenient place for them to be present in your life. Making time to pursue an idea can be difficult, but I find myself going into my notebook when I need to take a break at work or force myself into my lunch. Collaborate by sharing your ideas with supportive people.

Story Time: My wife is a graphic designer. I have an appreciation for beauty, but I am very left-brained with nary an artistic skill – I can treatment plan like nobody’s business, but ask me to draw a person, a tree, and a house and we’re in trouble… I like graphic design, art, and typography, but again, I am no artist. I won’t even pretend that I am. Over the past two years and in my spare time, I have been working to develop some of these skills. My goal was to learn Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator and I did it. Much like my clinical social working, I was incredibly horrible at it at the beginning, but it has taken time and many frustrating mistakes to get me to a place where I feel somewhat satisfied with the graphics I create (primarily for this site). Much like my clinical social work practice, I see what others are doing, see what works, and make it my own when it seems right to do so. I clip art and design that appeals to me to a folder in Evernote, where I later sift through to find inspiration for a design I might need for later.

Changes come slowly, but dream big. Prepare for a journey.

5. Nurture Relationships

Your community is small and people talk; everywhere you go, people will formulate an opinion of you and you want that opinion to be positive.

Relationships are important for your development as a social work professional. Nurture them, grow them, maintain those that are important to your career, and know when you need to let go of toxicity. If you are in a relationship you have to be in where you are being scorched by toxicity, let the other person own it, keep it, and change it on their own.

For me relationships are vitally important and I care about what people think about me. Everywhere I go, I want to be known as “the guy”. The guy that returns phone calls. The guy that follows-up. The guy that writes a pleasant greeting at the start of an email (e.g. I hope you’re having a great day! …). The guy that shakes hands. The guy that makes an effort to greet you and smiles. The guy that you want on your team. The guy that can get along. The guy that uses humor at appropriate times. The guy that gets work done. The guy that is easy going and dependable. In short, the guy who has followed the principles of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. As I mentioned previously, in giving selflessly and without expectation, I can make a healthy reputation for myself as a professional. I am also sowing seeds of good will in hopes that something will blossom.

I have been in positions where I have called in a favor or three, without the expectation that things will go my way. More often than not, people that have made an extra bed for my homeless client, bumped up another client on a waiting list, and carefully considered my other advocacy endeavors for all of my clients. I believe that people have bent over backwards for me as a result of the trail of good will I have left on my professional journey to this point in my career. Your community is small and people talk; everywhere you go, people will formulate an opinion of you and you want that opinion to be positive.

There is an obligation to nurture human relationships in social work practice, and I do my damnedest to give equal dignity, honor, and respect to everyone, client or professional.

May Your Year Be Blessed

May you grow into an exceptional professional and may your journey be fruitful with learning opportunities and nurturing, loving support.

I’ll be rooting for you!