MOTIVATE is my ONE Word for 2016

It's February 1st, which means an entire month of the new year 2016 has come and gone.  Many of us look back to January 1st as we made our New Year Resolutions. Do you recall what you resolved to do in 2016? Did you create a long list of goals you have for the year?

Are you still working hard at achieving your goals and making sure your resolutions are truly going to happen?  Or, are you disappointed that you have already given up or failed at your resolutions?

Well, I hope you are happy and healthy and not holding yourself hostage to a long list of resolutions that you may or may not be able to accomplish.  We all fail at something; and, it's okay.  We learn from our failures to become better.  Don't give up on yourself!

That's what I'm telling myself right now as I type this blog post.  Don't give up.  Just try harder and plan on succeeding.  Yes, I'm telling myself to believe in myself and in my abilities to be successful and to accomplish what I need to accomplish. So, how am I going to do it?

My friend Bethany Hill (@bethhill2829)  reminded me of the great book One Word That Will Change Your Life by the authors Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page. 

It really motivated and inspired me to truly think about my goals for 2016. As I looked back at some of the happy times as well as the sad times of the past few years, I know that I am blessed.  I don't try to compare myself to people who have more than me because there will always be people who have more of something, like money or cars or purses or shoes or vacations, etc. I try to count my blessings and to be grateful for what I do have in my life and for who I have in my life.

So, this leads me to my ONE WORD for 2016.........MOTIVATE!

Here is what I hope to accomplish in 2016:

• I will MOTIVATE myself to always try my best to appreciate what I have.
• I will MOTIVATE myself to pull myself away from work and spend more time with my children and my husband and my family and my friends.
• I will MOTIVATE myself to find some time for myself by reading a book I love, for pampering myself to a massage or pedicure or manicure.
• I will MOTIVATE my children to be more focused, to have more fun learning, to have more fun playing, to be kind to others, to appreciate life, and to always try their best.
• I will MOTIVATE my husband to take care of himself some more. He always gives so much to us to make sure we have everything we need and want; and I need him to do what makes him happy.
• I will MOTIVATE my students to never give up, to make good decisions on assignments, to revise their work so they learn from their mistakes, to collaborate with one another, to be kind to one another, to show appreciation to others, to love themselves, to respect society
• I will MOTIVATE my colleagues to get out of their comfort zone and make a difference, to reach their potential and share their talents with their students and with the world.
• I will MOTIVATE educators to keep learning and sharing and growing and making a difference because KidsDeserveIt and because our society deserves to be blessed with individuals who truly understand that educated people are empowered people who will improve the world.
• I will MOTIVATE myself to make every day count and to enjoy life because I know I am making a difference and I know my life is meaningful, just like I know all of you reading this post are special and unique and help bring meaning into the world. 

So, yes, my word is MOTIVATE and I hope that I can make it count in 2016 and beyond!

Thank you Bethany Hill (@bethhill2829) for reminding me of the ONE WORD challenge because I truly believe that "To the world you may be one person, but to that one person, you are the world" (I'm not sure who said that first....but I love the message). Thank you for all you have taught me and continue to teach me.  It's an honor being a part of your PLN.

Thank you Angela Maiers (@angelamaiers) for inspiring me.  Viewing your TEDTalk back in 2013 inspired me to be a better, more effective educator. Your passion for education and for students has instilled a deeper motivation in me to make a difference in the lives of my students and in the lives of other educators.  I want to be that educator that shows her students that learning matters and that learning should be fun and have purpose and it is meaningful.  Thank you for reminding me why I became a teacher and why my profession is so essential; and, it is extremely important that educators truly understand the power we have in spending the day with other people's children.  We make a difference and it is our responsibility to make it a positive difference. It does MATTER!

Thank you Garnet Hilman (@garnet_hillman) for helping me see the major difference between grading and learning.  Grades don't matter, but learning truly matters.  I'm so proud to call you my friend for many reasons, but most of all for your passion to reach as many people as possible on how important it is for education to be about learning.  You motivate me every day because your heart is filled with genius and when you share your passion for making sure that educators truly understand the impact that a grade makes on a student and to encourage teachers to realize for themselves that there is a fine line between harm and hope.  Students don't want to learn from an educator who punishes with grades; students want to learn from an educator who believes in the potential for learning and gives multiple opportunities. We are all different and we need to be taught differently. Every child can learn; and it's up to the teachers to teach effectively.

So, what is your ONE WORD for 2016?  

What do you want to accomplish this year?

How will you make it happen?

I would love for you to share....cause sharing is caring :)

P.S. One of my goals is to MOTIVATE myself to blog more this year.....I might need some outside MOTIVATION....so please help any chance you get ;)