Tannenbaum Tech - 1/5/2022: Small Steps Can Add Up

Small Steps Can Add Up...

As I got ready to write this blog post as part of my #oneword2022, something I listened to this week kept echoing in my ears: "maybe you're the problem." You might wonder why that came to mind- as I was listening to George Couros' Mindset Monday episode of the same name, it really made me think and reflect on this idea and its relationship to my #momentum goals.

As I mentioned before for my #oneword2022 #momentum, I will be focusing on four specific ways that I can build and maintain #momentum. They include:

The first thing that came to mind...

The first thing that came to my mind was my health and wellness journey. I was so happy to lose 20 pounds last year, but after the initial weight loss, I stagnated and struggled to lose any more. Yes, I could blame a stressful year, my IT Band issue, and more, but when I got down to it- I knew that I was the problem.

I write that in a nonjudgmental way and with vulnerability. The habits I had weren't serving me long term. I could have a good week and lose a few pounds, but then, I would gain it back the next week. I just didn't think I could have two good weeks in a row.

So you might wonder what changed- so far, just my approach has changed. After watching the Road to Awesome Pep Rally, I decided to start using Lisa Toebben's Elevate Your Vibe: Action Planning with Purpose.

Why Focus on This?

In the first page spread, she shares a scaffold to help you repurpose your overwhelm by restructuring your habits. So I considered what habits weren't serving me and realized that once I "messed up" with food, I kind of stopped keeping track of what I was eating or figured the day was a total loss and would eat things that I shouldn't. None of this was new news to me. But writing down my action plan and then writing down the barriers to success and coming up with strategies to push through was not something I had done.

After identifying this as a focus, I looked at the January month spread. I added some important dates on like FETC and some doctors appointments at the end of the month. But then it struck me- I was going to dedicate January as my month of eating healthy. I quickly wrote this down and then added tracking no matter what as my week's goal. I added a star next to it and planned that each day that I tracked, I would draw a star on the day. Today is day 5 and so far, I have drawn 5 stars. Yay me!

Why celebrate this?

Yes, I am celebrating 5 days and I will continue to celebrate each and every day during my month of healthy eating. Plus by blogging about it, I have added an additional layer of accountability from my PLN.

You might wonder what this blog has to do with educational technology. This is not a health blog, but it is about building your growth mindset as you try new things or try something that might not have worked before. Have you ever tried a program that you had issues with? Did you get frustrated and abandon it after it didn't work? Or did you find some additional resources and try again?

No Magic Button

By no means, does any of this mean that developing a new strategy is a magic button. Will I have days that don't go so well? Sure. But my plan is to have more days that serve my goal than days that don't. I am building momentum one day at a time. Those days will become weeks and before I know it, it will be a month. Yes, maybe I was the problem, but I am changing my habits to reach a solution. It is all up to me. I can do it!