If I had measured my success in 2024 by my word of the year, it would have been an absolute flop.

My word was Soar. Bold, right? I had big dreams for what this would look like: soaring like an eagle, taking risks, seeing the bigger picture, and flying high above the challenges.

But 2024? It didn’t feel bold. It didn’t feel powerful. It felt like I was soaring with the grace of a chicken—wild flapping, short liftoffs, and crash-landings.

Every time I wanted to throw in the towel (and trust me, I wanted to), this persistent image of the Wright brothers kept showing up in my meditations. I kept thinking, really Spirit, really?  What does a 12-second flight in 1903 have to do with me crash-landing in 2024?

Spoiler: everything.

The New Year Vibes That Get Us Every Time

The New Year is such a tricky time. On one hand, it’s all fresh-start energy. New goals. Big dreams. That sparkly “this year will be different” optimism.

But on the other hand? The weight of unmet expectations starts creeping in. The resolutions that fizzled out. The goals we didn’t hit. The dreams that felt so big in January but never took flight.

It’s easy to feel like you’re carrying all of that into the next year.

That’s why I ditched traditional resolutions years ago. Vision boards? Too static. Too pretty. They never seemed to work in the messy chaos of real life. Resolutions? Too fixed. No space to breathe and change. A recipe for self-judgment. But a word of the year? That was different.

Since 2017, I’ve chosen one word to light the way. It’s not just a feel-good mantra; it’s a practice. A guiding light. Something that reminds me of who I want to be, especially when life gets uncertain.

Last December, Soar dropped in. It felt like a big deal—bold, powerful, and filled with possibility. I imagined myself soaring like an eagle, taking risks, seeing the bigger picture, and flying high above the challenges

Reality Check: 2024 Didn’t Get the Memo

Fast forward 12 months, and here I am. No eagle wings. Just me, flapping around like a chicken. (Or so I thought.)

Instead of soaring, 2024 was short bursts of effort followed by hard crashes to the ground.

I had started to doubt myself. Did I pick the wrong word? Was I the problem? Had I missed the whole point of Soar?

The second-guessing was heavy. The frustration? Even heavier.

And yet, every time I thought I couldn’t take another step, the Wright brothers showed up in my meditations. Again. And again.

At first, I ignored it. But after the fifth (or tenth) time, I gave in. I grabbed a book about the Wright brothers off my shelf and started digging.

The Wright Brothers and the 3-Second Flight

Here’s what I learned—or maybe remembered–from all those visits to the First Flight Memorial:

The Wright brothers didn’t nail powered flight on their first try. Or their second. Or their tenth. Before they ever succeeded, they logged over 700 glider flights, testing and refining every tiny detail.

Their first powered flight on December 14, 1903? It lasted 3 seconds. That’s it. Three seconds and 105 feet.

Now, I don’t know if they were celebrating or ready to call it quits after that. But here’s what they did: they kept going.

Three days later, they tried again. This time? 12 seconds and 120 feet. Progress. They kept at it, making three more flights that same day. By the end, their longest flight was 59 seconds and 852 feet.

It wasn’t soaring like we think of it today. But it was enough to prove that their dream was possible.

That’s when it hit me: Soar wasn’t about the eagle. It was never about flying high and looking majestic. It was about persistence. About not giving up, no matter how short the flight or how hard the crash.

2024 was full of short, shaky flights—3 seconds here, 12 seconds there. Each one taught me something, built momentum, and laid the foundation for what’s coming next.

I soared simply because I didn’t quit.

The Big Takeaway

Dreams don’t work on 12-month timelines. That’s the pitfall of resolutions and expectations—we tie our success to this arbitrary calendar year, forgetting that big dreams take time.

If 2024 didn’t look like what you hoped it would, maybe it was laying the groundwork. Maybe it was your 3-second flight.

For me, Soar was definitely following the 3-second flight pattern—messy, clumsy, and surprisingly brave.

Even when the year didn’t look like I thought it would, my word still lit the way forward when I couldn’t see more than a few inches ahead.

So if 2024 feels heavy, remember this: Your dream is worth it. Keep leaping.

And just maybe, when you look back in a few years, you’ll realize you were far more successful than it felt at the time.