I am not a big fan of the new year resolution. However I, like many, spend the end of the year reflecting and the beginning of the year looking forward.
My experience has been, when I set a goal and wait until January 1 to start it, the passion I had for making that change or learning that thing has died. It’s been starved a dark corner of my psyche leaving behind the withered shell of great intentions.
The times I manage to keep the spark of passion, my resolutions turn into idealized and unbalanced goals. Goals based in the extremes of success or failure, all or nothing, they are unattainable and unrealistic. And when the first inevitable slip happens, failure descends, proclaiming the end of the journey rather than a bump in the road.
I’ve been thinking about this as 2025 came to an end and 2026 has been off to a sudden and crazy whirlwind of a start.
With changes in direction coming at us by the day and sometimes by the hour, how do I challenge myself to grow in 2026. Like most people I know, the world around us has left me tired, hurt, confused, and frustrated. The last thing I need is to enhance those feelings by setting myself up for failure.
So instead, I choose to move forward with intention. I choose to learn the hard things, to make time for joy, to reflect on how I want to be make the world better, and to enjoy eating the cake.
For the past couple of years regularly posting to this blog has been my “goal for the new year”. But I keep getting lost in defining my voice, what do I know worth sharing? Why should anyone listen to me?
But I’m starting to learn a valuable lesson meaningful people around me have been trying to help me understand: my value isn’t defined by what I know today.
My intention to learn, understand, and apply new knowledge matters way more than what I know today.
My intention to listen, show empathy, and act with integrity and understanding has much more value than the knowledge I hold today.
Acting with open-minded engagement and accountability to become a better version of myself has way more value than today’s knowledge.
I have been told several times that my biggest super power is asking questions.
I want to move forward with a focus on how and why. I look forward to focusing on learning, use cases, and integration. I intend to share my experiences rather than getting stuck worrying about answers.
I want to focus on my journey. I want to explore new ideas and technologies. I want to reflect on their value and explore with intentionality how they may provide benefit. I want to explore what pain points they might create and reflect on what value they may add.
Will this be done with perfection? Will all my opinions be correct? Will I have full understand everything I explore?
No
But perfection isn’t the goal. Having content to share every Friday afternoon isn’t required. Out of the box, empathetic, and valueable ideas are.
My interest in technology comes from how we can use it to improve lives. I believe the value in technology comes from how well it meets the needs of it’s user. It’s the value it provides to humanity that sparks my passion.
And that’s is my intention, exploring the cross hairs of technology and humanity. I’ll be here when I have something to share.
Becoming The Demo 