Four Words from Mom for the New Year

I'm an idea person. At best, this trait opens up worlds of new possibilities. It sparks me to make new things and to favor learning and discovery. It helps me change a negative spin into a positive one, and shows me another person's perspective so we can communicate with understanding. Basically, it helps me creatively solve problems. I can quickly develop new ideas, sort them, and shake out a handful of workable, and often, really good options. It's a life-long process to trust and expand this side of the trait.

And then there is the other side. At worst, this trait overwhelms me with scary possibilities. A pain in my abdomen can become, in my mind: muscle pull, cancer, how will I pay the medical bills, oh God help me navigate this disaster! It's a life-long process to control this side, to disregard what uninformed fear brings to mind.

When I was a sophomore in college and experiencing the worst side of this trait, I called my Mom for help. It was near finals week and I was totally overwhelmed. How can I possibly manage all the papers, research, and tests; what if my alarm doesn't go off and I miss a final exam; what was my political science professor really looking for; what if I calculated the practice work incorrectly; what if I fail? Oh no, life is over if I fail!

I blathered this into the phone toward my Mom, panicked and upset. When I finally stopped talking long enough for her to get a word in, she said:

"Start with one thing."

Instant calm. She saved me from drowning in a sea of possibilities (in this case, disastrous, if unlikely, possibilities), dried me off a bit, and set me on the path to actually creating a good outcome. I needed to put one foot in front of the other to get anywhere.

We have to map out the big ideas and goals over time to accomplish anything. There are times when imagination is the greatest gift. And there are times when you simply have to choose one thing to do, putting aside for that moment your doubts, and the simplified vision of your goals, and all the other things you could choose to do.

Now that you've developed your 2012 resolutions, which might seem overwhelming even if you're enthusiastic about them, I can only suggest my mother's advice on how to best accomplish them: Start with one thing.