One Step. One Day.

What goal do you want to set? It’s January. You know, the month of New Year’s Resolutions. 

More people set goals to join the gym, start a diet, drink more water, get out of debt, commit to ______ (fill in the blank), than at any other time of the year. 

I mean, have you been to Walmart lately? The diet and exercise stuff are always put front and center this time of year. 

Have you watched commercials lately? It is one commercial after another advertising deals for weight loss, gym memberships, and even shopping (a commercial just came on for Haverty's: Is your New Year's Resolution to eat together as a family more often? Then you have to buy our new dining room table).  Insert eye roll here. 

So how many people keep the goals (aka New Year's Resolutions) they set on January 1? 

The odds are not usually in their favor. I mean, I haven't dug into the research, but I do have a pretty good window into the habits (or lack thereof) of human beings.

Why is that? Why do so many people set a goal on January 1 and then not too long after slip back into their old habits? 

Newsflash: Bad habits are hard to break. Good habits are hard to start.

When most of us set goals we think of doing it all year or all month or for a whole week. That is the quickest way to set yourself up for failure. 

Can I suggest a small shift in your thinking? 

Set your goal and then...

How about you just do it for one day? 

And then another day. 

And then another day. 

I started running when I turned 30. That was 14 years ago. August 2005. I couldn’t run from one mailbox to the next without stopping to catch my breath. Then in November 2016 I ran my first marathon. 

Do you think in August 2005 I was thinking about running a marathon? EVER? No way!

I went on to run another marathon in November 2017 and my third in November 2018. 

Then on August 21, 2018 I went for a regular run. But that day I decided to see how many days I could run in a row. It's called a #runstreak. I had become connected with Sarah Johnson (@SarahSajohnson) and a few others who had started their own #runstreak. So, I set the goal. 

And then I ran. I ran on August 21. I ran again on August 22. You get the picture. 

Today is January 3, 2020. And you guessed it, I went for a run. 

Do you think on August 21, 2018 I was thinking that I was still going to be running on January 3, 2020? No. 

It was one step, one day. Today was day 500 of my #runstreak. 

And, you know what? I learned that it is about so much more than running. It is about setting a goal. It is about taking the first step and then the second. It is about the first day and then the second day. 

One. Day. At. A. Time. 

Setting and achieving that one goal has allowed me to set and achieve so many other goals because I now know how to better set myself up for success. 

If I can do it, you can too. It doesn't take superhuman strength. It doesn't take some special ability. 

It just takes ONE. 

#OneWord2020-Connect

As I sit at my desk in the pre-dawn moments of the very first day of the new year and the new decade I ponder the past, the present and the future. That's what new years are for, right?

A blank page
A new start
365 days of wonder all wrapped neatly into 12 months

Two years ago I stopped setting New Year's Resolutions (I mean the only one I can remember setting and keeping for an extended period of time was to recycle) and started choosing a word, just one word that would carry me through the year and be my intentional focus.

I have been amazed at how each year I don't have to search a list or ask people or research at all what my #OneWord will be. Each year, since 2018, my word has found me.

My #OneWord2018 was RESOLVE. I was doing a Bible study on the book of Daniel and these words jumped off the page:

BUT DANIEL RESOLVED

I knew in that moment that my word for the year was going to be RESOLVE. In 2018 I needed to be steadfast in the decisions I made, the work I did and the battles I fought. I needed to resolve to be strong no matter what. 

My #OneWord2019 was PRESENT. And as with RESOLVE, it found me. I was at a time in my life (in the middle of my first full year as a principal) when I needed to focus on being present. When that word chose me, there was a time of grief at all the moments I had missed because I was not present. I was either too busy ruminating about mistakes in the past, too concerned with the to-do list of the present or too worried about what the future held. Even when in the moment of a conversation with a friend or family member I would find myself pondering what I was going to say and not give them the gift of my full attention. Do you know how much you miss when you are not present in each moment? 

After having a full year with the word RESOLVE and not focusing on it as much as I should, I knew I needed to do a better job with PRESENT. So I put screensavers on my phone and my Apple watch to remind me. I created a Pinterest board with all kinds of quotes on being present. A good friend and colleague surprised me with this amazing bracelet and I wore it almost every single day to be that constant reminder: "Suzie, be present in THIS moment."

As 2019 came to a close I was surprised at how easily my #OneWord2020 came to me; it basically landed in my lap. 

CONNECT

This word came to be me not only through books I was reading but in just doing every day life, in being observant, in watching how others connect or don't connect.

I just finished reading #KidsTheseDays by @JodyCarrington. She says so much about connection and the dangerous repercussions we are facing due to the tidal wave of disconnection.

"We are wired for connection." 

Dr. Jody Carrington

Feelings of isolation, loneliness, and a complete disconnection from others is causing so many problems in our society today. It's not the guns. It's not even the technology. It's not the busyness. It's the disconnection. Connecting can and will heal so much. Connecting can and will change the path others are on, like one raindrop falling into another one. The two become one and the path they travel becomes so different than their original path.

This will be my focus 2020. I want to purposefully connect or reconnect with people. I want to be purposeful to help others connect or reconnect.

I hope you will join me on my journey. I hope to document my growth through blogs and tweets. This will help hold me accountable.

One final word: I am so thankful for the connections I have made this year through Twitter and Voxer. Being a part of #4OCFPLN has completely changed the trajectory of my journey.

Connect.
Reconnect.
Let's go!