Reset Your Journey

The New Year is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how we can improve our lives and continue to grow by becoming more intentional in whatever season of life we find ourselves. It is also an ideal time to take an inventory of factors that may be holding us back from experiencing something new. Even as the global pandemic lingers and events happen outside of our control, we can all continue to learn and grow by deciding to reset our journey.  

I encourage you to reset your journey in 2022 by intentionally pursuing something you ordinarily would not consider. Examine your habits and routines and then work hard to change or challenge them. One way we can reset our journey in the New Year is by controlling the things we can control, such as our choices, our feelings, and our behavior or actions, and by releasing outside factors we have little or no control over, such as the weather, global events, and yes, even the pandemic.  

For some, the first step toward resetting your journey in 2022 may be realizing that it is time to change careers, learn a new skill, trade, or enroll in a certification course to learn something new. For others, it may mean leveraging whatever resources are available to you now until you are suited to move onto the next goal. And yet for others, resetting one’s journey may be less career-oriented and more personal, such as deciding to be more mindful and present with family members, friends, and co-workers in a world full of distractions.  

Resetting your journey may also be challenging yourself to aspire for more in 2022 by applying for a scholarship, grant, a new experience, or an opportunity you ordinarily would not pursue for whatever reason. For example, the Waubonsee Foundation offers 300+ scholarship opportunities to help students with a range of financial support to achieve educational and career goals. These scholarships are generously supported by community donors, have numerous eligibility criteria, and provide students with a range of financial support. Resetting your journey in 2022 may mean taking the first step to apply for one of these Foundation scholarships. 

Recently, we shared the story of Jeremy Sullivan who had planned to enter the military but reset his journey for a career in automotive technology through Waubonsee. His story is inspirational.

My wish for you in 2022 is that you excel wherever you are in your life, in the classroom, on the job, on an athletic team, and in your community by remembering that you can rest your journey by taking small actionable steps in the direction you desire to grow. Each step looks different for each person depending on what they hope to accomplish or improve, but what matters most is that the action step is small enough to attain. Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act but a habit.” 

May you reset your journey in 2022 with personal courage and find happiness and success in your personal and professional lives.