At the end of each December so many of us resort to the annual tradition of reflection and setting ourselves upon a new path by way of a New Year’s Resolution. For many of us in the education community, the traditional process has been slightly disrupted by the #oneword movement inspired by Jon Gordon in which we are challenged to focus on a singular word in the upcoming year. The thought being a singular focus would help with fidelity and commitment as opposed to multiple or convoluted resolutions.
These processes in and of themselves are net positives for many reasons. Any time we take the time to deeply self-reflect, be self-critical with a positive outlook, and increase our overall self-awareness those are all positive things. In fact, I deeply wish that the end of the year was not the only (or at least primary) time most of us went through these exercises.
I do, however, have a bit of a problem with what these exercises often produce or become. These reflective processes, more than most naturally occurring processes tend to have people focus on areas of deficiency.
- I want to lose fifteen pounds.
- I need to become a better listener.
- I will get to the gym four times a week.
- I will not eat after 7 pm
- I will read two books a month
- I will wake up at 5am to get more done throughout the day
This list looks like the all too typical New Year’s Resolutions you will hear talking over a coffee when people return to work early in January. There is not a single thing wrong with wanting to make any of the lifestyle or habit changes laid out in these selections.
My hope is that people choose to work through the reflective process, but they focus on what they are already great at, interested in, or fascinated by and focus their energies and attention on that. I believe that if everyone took a strength and worked tirelessly in the new year to make it their “superpower” the world would be a lot better place than one where everyone focuses on their weaknesses or deficit areas. We are not ever going to be awesome at everything. Heck, we are not ever going to be ‘good’ at everything either.
So, while I hope everyone reading this chooses to have great habits, a healthy lifestyle, and lives the life they imagined – I just hope that fixing what ails us is not the focus of our plans for self as we enter the new year. I hope you take the same time and energy in reflection, but think about what you are very good at and think about how transformational it could be for your life if you became truly great at it.
This applies for work stuff, home stuff, family stuff, finance stuff, fitness stuff – you name it. Let’s quit trying to fix what makes us perfectly imperfect. Instead, resolve to follow your passion and vision for self and become the best you can possible be at something that truly stirs your soul.
Not to mention, following a resolution like this is much easier than trying to check boxes in areas you think you are not good at anyways. Happy New Year!