If you haven’t read “One Word That Will Change Your Life” by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page, I would highly recommend it. I read it about five years ago, and it had a tremendous impact on me. It is a quick read, and it is well worth it.

For the last couple of years, my One Word has been “change,” and boy, did we ever live that out. In 2015 we moved back to Texas from Oklahoma, leaving the best job I’ve ever had in order to be able to better provide for my family. A year later I spent my first fall in the stands watching football games instead of standing on the sidelines coaching. A year after that, I walked out of the classroom and into my new home… the assistant principal’s office.

I am so glad that I made those changes. Some of them were very difficult to make (and still are), but I would not change my journey. I really enjoy my job. The pace is incredible, and I learn so much on a daily basis. I also get to see education from a completely different perspective.

If there is one thing about my job that I do not like, it is that in the midst of the hustle and bustle, it can be so easy to get caught up in “just doing my job.” If I am not intentional about how I spend my time, I will leave work completely exhausted without having done any of the things I really wanted to accomplish that day. Then It’s super easy to go home after that and waste an evening in the name of “it was such a crazy day.” It was this thought that started me down the path toward my new word for this year.

My One Word for 2018 is “intentional,” and here are 7 areas in which I am going to be more intentional this year. I will…

1. be intentional with how I spend (invest) my time.
2. be intentional about being more present with my family.
3. be intentional about how I create/build/end relationships.
4. be intentional about getting out of my office (and into classrooms) more often at school.
5. be intentional about investing in my health and fitness.
6. be intentional about how I manage my finances.
7. be intentional about creating and sharing my experiences and the things that I am learning.

I think all of us can relate to the need to be more intentional with our time. That is where this all started for me. If I can master number one this year, I feel like numbers 2-5 will fall in line as well. We all need to be more mindful of how we spend our money, so number six probably isn’t earth-shattering for any of us. However, as my family grows (my parents just moved in with us), we certainly need to be more mindful of where our money goes and how we are preparing for our future. I am pretty sure a bigger house needs to be in our near future. 🙂

Number seven is one I really want to focus on. I had all but settled on using “Create” as my One Word before I landed on “Intentional.” I know that I am at my best when I am creating and sharing my learning and personal experiences with others. By forcing myself to write and by putting myself out there, I am actually forcing myself to sharpen my sword. I have skated along most of this year as a consumer. I’ve read plenty of books and blogs, and I have listened to some incredible podcasts. I have followed along behind the scenes with some of my favorite “Twitter Chats,” but when it is all said and done, I do not feel like I contributed to the knowledge base as much I would have liked to. That is the biggest area of focus for me as I work on being more intentional this year.

I am looking forward to 2018. It is going to be something special. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Sharing my One Word with you helps me boost my level of accountability. I’d love to hear what you are focusing on this year as well. Feel free to share in the comments (click the link in the left sidebar), or reach out on Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Have a great year!