True transparency is a rare thing these days. While we may still ask for prayers on social media, it's typically for someone else. We tend to showcase the good times and leave out the negative, and that actually makes sense in a public forum. When life is delivering us a swift kick to our salty hammock, we don't need trite responses: we need a brother.

As a kid, I had a hard time focusing on schoolwork...or pretty much any work that I didn't find interesting. Much of this was the result of simply being a boy and trying to fit an energetic kid into an overly structured environment. But, as an adult I've noticed some of the same tendencies. Sitting still for long periods of time doing work that doesn't grab my focus is hard. Yet, I've been able to accomplish quite a bit both because of and in spite of any ADD/ADHD tendencies I may have.

We've all heard the mantra of "finding ourselves". Apparently, this can be a lifelong journey but it often looks a lot like a midlife crisis that lasts for a decade or more. After many years of living life as an adult, people are quick to throw off responsibility in favor of the freedom they have been missing out on. Too often, though, the pendulum swings too far to the other side and instead of "finding themselves", they find themselves more lost than ever.

This is my 4th year of having a specific word to focus on. In hindsight, this has had more of a lasting effect on me than goal setting. Goals can often be marked by behavior change, but adhering to a word is to adhere to a definition...or a defining of one's character; it's much more introspective.