We are approaching that time of year when many of us have broken our new year’s resolutions, if you even made them in the first place. You know what I’m talking about, the attendance at the gym starts to thin out, the salads have gotten old and have been replaced with tastier more convenient options, and desserts are starting to make their way back into our normal routines. 
As we approach the start of February, it is the moment of truth for many. It’s the time of year that we all just get busy with life and either push through and truly commit to the changes we pledged at the start of the year or we fall back into our old ways. It’s human nature, I guess – but it doesn’t have to be.
One Word
By accident, I was introduced to a different approach to goal setting a few years ago by a colleague and friend,Becky Taylor. I noticed she had a sticky note with a single word discipline written on it stuck to her computer screen for months. One day, I decided to ask her what the word meant. It was her One Word that she chose to focus on for the year.
This word would drive all of her behaviors both personally and professionally maybe even spiritually throughout the year. She suggested I check out the book, which of course I did, and I have been setting my goals using one word ever since. (Thanks, Becky)
My word for 2018
After a lot of thought and reflection, I chose the word transform in 2018. 
It seemed fitting given the amount of change I was facing, but I have to tell you choosing just one word was challenging. I had to think about all of the different things going on in my life and how I wanted to approach each of them.
For instance, my daughters would both be in college, and my role in their lives was about to – transform. After 24 years, I found myself with more time to spend one on one with my husband, Kevin, so naturally our relationship was about to – transform. My role at work as both a CFO & COO had historically been focused internally on the financial health, projections and operations for our organization. My role was shifting to a much more outward focus of building business consulting solutions and leading the data analytics team to create insights for our agents to help them grow their businesses. This shift would require me to – transform.
The word fit, no doubt and it was my focus for 2018. I wore a bracelet that reminded me daily of my goals, and in many ways that bracelet kept me focused on the many ways I had committed to transform in almost every area of my life, but truthfully, I wasn’t always successful. 2018 was a journey with a lot of turns.
Build a Community
Change is hard, but fortunately I am surrounded by a pretty awesome group of people both personally and professionally that became my community and helped me achieve my goals to transform in 2018. The road to success in 2018 had many turns, and success would not have been possible without the support of my amazing family, friends I just can’t ever thank enough and a crazy awesome team – The Unicorn Squad, who are absolutely the most uniquely fierce and magical group of people you could ever imagine. 
I knew that having a great community was important, but my journey in 2018 taught me that it was absolutely essential. We all need way more than a word to achieve success – you need a strong community.
When you are surrounded by people who truly care and believe in you, are equally focused, ambitious and also pushing themselves to do great things – a community of support naturally forms and helps everyone stay focused and motivated to achieve their goals.
Stay the Course
If you choose to share your goals with a community – you are so much more likely to win. Whether you are running a marathon, learning a language, rebranding, building a software solution to change an industry or simply committing to dance with your daughter every day, make sure you have a strong community to help you see it through. Sharing your goals with your community creates support, accountability, and a common bond that is so very special. Your community will check in often, be your champion when you need one and push you when necessary. They will offer their advice, provide support and who knows they may even run beside you! Community matters and the team at OIA is ready, willing and able to be your community. We are committed to helping you achieve your goals for 2019 and stay the course!
Reach out to our team and learn about how we can be all of these things for you and your agency. Whether it be through our business consulting services, peer groups, professional development or providing you with valuable insights on the health of your agency, we are your community and we are committed to helping you!
My new word for 2019 is Intentional. Share with us what your One Word is for 2019!
