This year consider taking baby steps instead of making resolutions

Sometimes it can be hard to stick to the plan. Sometimes in the midst of all the busy, it can be hard to even come up with a plan.

That’s why even though I’ve been happily making resolutions in January and even in September for the last couple of years, this year I’m letting myself off the hook.

Because, while it can be hard to come up with – and stick to – a list of resolutions, it’s not hard to take one single step in the right direction every day. It doesn’t even require much discipline or will, it’s just one step.

It’s changing the way I think about a situation. It’s asking a question. It’s opening my eyes. It’s helping a child sound out a word or throw a ball. It’s picking up the phone. It’s typing the first letter. It’s putting on a shoe. It’s opening a door. It’s turning a page. It’s saying “good morning”. It’s taking a breath.

Focusing on each step makes me pay attention to the road I’m on and I control with each step where I’ll go. It’s freedom.

Focusing on each step means no lapsed resolutions, forgotten promises, or failing to measure up.

January may feel like a clean slate but in reality, there are only ever track marks left behind. If I am moving forward, every day is a clean slate no matter what the time of year.

It can be a helpful exercise to look back and take stock, but after a year that was awesome and overwhelming in equal measure – one that threw me curveballs I didn’t want or expect and gifts that I couldn’t have conjured – I’m ready to throw out the plan and just enjoy the walk. One step at a time.