Happy New Year! Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I prefer to set goals for myself because it helps me to be more intentional about adding something of value to my life instead of declaring what I am not going to do.
In addition to setting goals for a new year, I also like to choose one word as my focus. Choosing just one word makes me think about what kind of person I want to be by the end of the year. We all have lots of ideas of projects we want to do in the upcoming year or areas we want to improve and it can get overwhelming. I have found that choosing one word helps me to stay focused on what matters most in my goal setting and my planning.
My one word for 2019 is “courage.” I chose this word for two reasons. One reason is that I am not a super-brave person! I really hate snakes and I am afraid of heights and I hate not being able to see in the dark. I will never die of a shark attack because I refuse to go above my knees in the ocean! But having courage does not mean I’m going to swim with sharks. It does mean that I am going to think about what I want to do, what the obstacles and challenges might be, and then step out of my comfort zone and try something new.
One way I am going to work on having courage is to write regularly and to post my writing on this blog and in other places. Ever since I learned to scribble, I have always loved to write. When I was in elementary school, my two career goals were to be a teacher and to be a writer. But writing never seemed like a viable career option, so I did not take it seriously
I did pursue my other career goal — to be a teacher — and I have never regretted that choice. But a funny thing happened when I started teaching fourth grade. Many of our literacy professional development sessions were focused on the teaching of writing. One suggestion kept coming up again and again: to teach writing well, you should be a writer yourself. So here I am — writing for myself as I have always done, but also writing for others with the hope that others may find some ideas or encouragement or inspiration in what I write and share.
Another way for me to focus on courage is by encouraging people in my life. One meaning of the word “encourage” is to “put courage in” to someone else, to give them the courage or confidence to do more and to be better. By focusing on my own courage in this way, I will make positive change by encouraging others through my writing, teaching and collaborating. There is so much negativity in our world right now. Maintaining a focus on the positive changes we can make is the only way to counter that negativity.
Speaking of negativity, a third way I will focus on courage is by speaking up when I hear comments that are racist or sexist. If I truly believe in the value and worth of every human being — and I say that is what I believe — then I cannot allow comments to be made in my presence without countering them in some way. I already do this to some extent, but I know that I can do better.
Finally, I will have the courage to keep going. It is so easy to just quit or to give up when the going gets tough. This year, I want to have the courage to acknowledge the tough stuff, to admit my mistakes, to think about what and how I can do better, to ask for help and support, and to get up and keep going.
What is your one word for 2019? Post it on Twitter using the hashtag #oneword. Tag me — I would love to hear about your word for the year!