You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety. -Abraham Maslow

As we finish 2018 and start into a new year, many begin to think about new year’s resolutions. What will I do this year to become a better me? What area of my life do I want to improve?

Much like the quote from Maslow at the start of this post, our resolutions revolve around stepping forward into growth rather than back into safety. As Maslow points out, there are really only two options, growth or safety. Pushing forward takes you out of safety. Much like the rhetoric we often hear about stepping out of our comfort zone; to grow we must leave a place of safety. Safety brings stagnation, while pushing forward into the unknown provides growth.

While I appreciate the desire for future growth that is typically the center of new year resolutions, most resolutions typically fail because we do not have the fortitude to stick with change long enough to reach those goals. What if instead of a long term resolution this year, we make Maslow’s idea a new way of living?

Everyday, let’s wake up and find something that causes us to step forward into growth rather than stepping back into safety. What would we be able to accomplish or achieve in a year if, instead of focusing on an arbitrary outcome based goal, we just looked for ways to grow in our daily opportunities or struggles?
This is what I challenge you to think about as 2018 winds to an end and we all gear up for a new year. I know each of us has the capability for achieving much more than what we are currently getting out of life. It is time for us to want for more than to be safe and just survive in our day to day living, it’s time to step forward into growth. Wake up everyday with this resolution. Even if it is just once a day, focus on stepping forward. I promise, if you do that everyday, 2019 will be an amazing year!

Until next time…keep learning; keep growing; keep sharing!