Most people have some sort of new year commitment they make to themselves. Whether it's to lose 40 pounds, spend more time with the kids, or stop some sort of toxic behavior--most of us have some sort of #NewYearNewMe promise. I personally have some qualms with the idea of a "New Year's Resolution." It's not that I don't think we should make new goals and improve upon ourselves, but I think I mostly dislike the notion because I don't like the idea of waiting on such a big milestone on the calendar to get better. If I have to wait until January, it seems to me I've wasted perhaps several months being less awesome than I know I can be. Still, I do think it's important to take some time to reflect on and celebrate your past as you vision for your future.
One of the things I was propelled to start doing towards the end of 2018 was taking small steps. It was after having watched a TED Talk by Patti Dobrowolski entitled "Draw Your Future." In the talk, she describes the way in which we should begin to envision and walk towards our desired state versus our current state. Often times, we are burdened with fear and seeming obstacles, but the part of her idea I zeroed in on was to just take one small step. Chances are that pushing yourself to one small action will either result in an end or a beautiful beginning.
In my own life, I'm in the middle of a beautiful beginning. In October of 2018, my church announced a big fundraising goal that would enable us to collectively touch more lives in 2019. This gave me the motivation I needed to push past my fear and what I felt I lacked to take the small step of dusting off one of my hidden talents: baking. The idea was that I would do sort of a home-based bake/cake sale to raise money for the church. I put it on Facebook and in the end, not only was I able to raise more money than I expected, but I was also able to draw connections and lessons to other business ideas I have. I gained self-assurance about this skill and going into business for myself and was blessed by how much people seemed to enjoy the cakes. I'm looking forward to continuing my baking well past the fundraising initiative-- and it all started with the small step of sharing the cause on social media!
So this year, as I lead in my family, my community and my career, I resolve to take the next small step. Even if it scares me. Even if I don't know exactly what I'm doing. Even if I can't see how everything will work out. I'm going to begin taking even more small steps in 2019 and watch courage, faith and confidence roll down my hill.
And so can you--whether you're reading this in January or May 3rd, just do it. Take a small step for you and those you lead.
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