AWAKEN: My One Word for 2016

This marks year three of practicing One Word. An easy yet powerful and effective way to add focus to your life. One Word gives simple clarity and purpose to your actions and decisions. However, this has by far been my hardest year to discover my One Word. In the past it had simply jumped out at me... #Uncomfortable and #Strong. For some reason this year was different. I started thinking about my Word in early December and I wasn't connecting with any Word. You see, your Word should drive you and scare you. Sure, you can play it safe and pick an easy word that simply allows you to go on in life with little change. But we all know "if it doesn't CHALLENGE you it doesn't CHANGE you." So, one night last week my wife and I sat down and discussed the idea of doing the activity as a family. She was having trouble identifying her Word as well. We talked for about an hour and we both helped each other discover our Words. Her Word this year is #SHIFT and mine is #AWAKEN. Our kids even joined in this year and my son Griffin choose #LIMITLESS and my daughter Ava went with #FOCUS.

I am a firm believer that your One Word becomes your lens to life. Before making decisions or setting goals you look through your Word to ensure what you're doing aligns to your beliefs and values. Your Word becomes a representation of areas in your life where you need growth.

Here is how #AWAKEN works for me:

• SPIRITUAL AWAKENING- I need to AWAKEN my soul and grow spiritually. As a Christian I need to serve more in all aspects of my life. I need to be the spiritual leader my family deserves and be the disciplined believer so I can learn more from God. Pray more. Trust more. Read more. 

• PERSONAL AWAKENING-If I want to grow personally I must AWAKEN the servant leader in me. I can't be the leader I'm intended to be without serving others first. I need to practice more of the Love...Serve...Care philosophy from Jon Gordon's Carpenter. I need to find balance in my personal, professional and educational arenas. The goal is to finish my Doctoral program and not let my family life suffer. It's a tough task that I struggled with last year. I will be more present in the moments. 

• PHYSICAL AWAKENING- Last year I took huge strides in my physical development. I became #Stronger than ever by focusing on powerlifting but that is just the beginning. This year I plan to AWAKEN a leaner me while adding more strength. My wife recently had knee surgery and has been sidelined from running. I plan on running a few races this year until she is able to and competing in a few Obstacle (Checkout BattleFrog Series) course races to push myself physically.

• PROFESSIONAL AWAKENING- This seems to be an open ended question for me. I am nowhere near my peak and need to AWAKEN my professional vision and focus. I absolutely love what I do and love my current position, school, and co-workers. I couldn't ask for a better place to be in my current phase of life. My goal is to help others better themselves from where I am. Whether that is my students, peers, PLN, or simply anyone that will listen. I truly envision connecting with other leaders and setting up a Leadership Conference in Central Ohio. A conference that is open for students, teachers, and those seeking growth. 

It's 2016 are you READY? What's your One Word (www.getoneword.com)? I am Focused on what matters and ready for an AWAKENING in my life!

#HappyToHelp

John