Did you have a vision of a new, improved and better version of yourself for 2024? Did you make any resolutions, and if so, how are they working out? Quitters Day – the second Friday in January when most people abandon their New Year’s resolutions – has already been and gone. All is not lost, however, and there are simple ways to get things back on track.
James Clear, who penned Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones says, “Many people think they lack motivation but what they really lack is clarity.” Even though it was first published in 2018, his book is currently ranked fourth in the Amazon bestseller list, alongside cookery books with healthy recipes – which makes sense for this time of year.
Clear frames good habits in terms of maths: if you were able to improve by 1% each day for a year and those gains compound, you would be 37 times better by the end of the year. “If you were to get 1% worse, you would almost will yourself down to zero,” he said in a presentation. “Everybody wants a transformation. Everybody wants a radical improvement and wants rapid success, but we fail to realise that small habits and little choices are transforming us everyday already,” he adds. By accumulating tiny habits that are supported by the environment and a clear plan, “Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become,” Clear says.
The treasurers that Treasury Today speak to are often ambitious, motivated people with a strong vision and plan of what they want to achieve. For this reason, we were keen to hear what their resolutions – and plan to keep them – were for 2024.
Amit Baraskar, Vice President and Head – Treasury at Thomas Cook (India) Limited has set a number of goals and is actively monitoring them. As a keen sprinter, he wants to maintain discipline and consistency in his athletics training in 2024. His other resolutions include getting a project off the ground to help provide deserving students with financial aid.
In his professional life, Baraskar is shifting his focus to the medium term and also aiming to be “well dressed and presentable in letter and spirit every time, everywhere”. Baraskar is also keen to mentor high potential treasury professionals in India.
Meanwhile, Irene Thng, Executive Vice President and Group Treasurer, Toll Group, has vowed to visit new destinations this year. On a professional level, Thng will be involved in an ambitious project – a challenge that she relishes. In terms of keeping the resolutions, Thng likes to keep them realistic, but also with a certain level of challenge attached to them. She says, “I like to raise the bar to push myself and see how much more and better I could do. I love to be able to give myself a pat on the shoulder and tell myself “Well done, Irene!!”
Baraskar comments that resolutions often fail, and it is important to constantly work at them. “Resolutions seldom yield fruit in a week or a month. In fact, most people fail and give up after two to three failures at the beginning of the year. It’s the people who continue beyond these failures who end up making something out of this. Otherwise, it remains on the table as one more New Year fad,” he says.
