Ashley Brown: Do something every day and keep moving forward

I know we are in late April, and New Year's is long past due. But I have a mantra this year that I have been trying to stick with, and I want to share it with you. It is simple but powerful: Do something every day and keep moving forward.

This theme of mine came about as I was having a conversation with a colleague (and friend) a couple of months ago. There are many topics we could have been discussing that would make this story really emotional or moving, but the truth of the matter is, we were discussing data-collecting and reporting -- really exciting stuff, right?

I was actually sharing my frustration because I knew we weren't capturing all of the data we needed at the Women's Resource Center. His business is collecting and analyzing data, so I was a little embarrassed by the simplicity of what and how we were tracking. He listened and asked me some key questions.

When all was said and done, he responded with: You are good! You are going in the right direction, you need to build on what you are collecting and continue to grow the data. He encouraged me to focus on what we were doing and build on it instead of feeling defeated by what we still had left to finish. I can't tell you what a sense of relief I felt.

Then I had the opportunity to hear Gloria Steinem speak at a luncheon. During the Q&A, an audience member asked, "What can I do to be an activist?"

Gloria's response, paraphrased: Do something every day to further your cause/mission and don't focus on it having to be something big, just do SOMETHING, big or small.

You might be asking yourself about now, what do these two things have to do with one another? Well, these two moments and these two thoughts gave me hope.

I discovered that I spend a lot of time chastising myself for not doing THIS or feeling I should be further along with THAT or why haven't I been able to do THIS. It struck me that I don't speak very kindly to myself, and I need to cut myself some slack and move on from past mistakes. More importantly, I realized that everything doesn't have to be a win or lose situation -- it may just be a step in the process.

From that moment forward, I made it a goal to apply the philosophy "keep moving forward and do something positive every day" to my life. The first and most significant thing that happened was that I became less frustrated. Whether it was a work project or something in my personal life, as long as I was doing one thing every day to move it forward, I let it be enough.

It made me realize how often I let the frustration of not reaching my ultimate goal get in the way of moving forward. I started focusing on the steps and working on things within my control. To my surprise, things really started progressing.

For me, this thought process is the antithesis of the cliché "You can't see the forest for the trees." In my world, there are times I need to take it one tree at a time instead of wondering why we haven't already built the Redwood Forest!

Think about your own life. How many times have you been frustrated by your lack of progress, or thought "I won't be able to make a difference" or "I'm sure you need someone more important than I am." I don't think I am the only one who has an issue of beating themselves up. How interesting would it be if we all just did something, anything, every day toward fulfilling a passion or reaching a goal?

It doesn't have to be a huge gesture. It could be as simple as making yourself available to someone who needs a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen. It could be making a call or starting a project that seems overwhelming. Maybe it is cleaning out ONE shelf in the closet that you keep closed because you just can't deal with it.

For my friend who started this whole process for me, it is giving dignity to homeless -- talk about a big problem with no easy solution. For him it is making sandwiches, bringing new socks and toiletries every Saturday in our community. It is his one thing. What is yours?

Ashley Brown, executive director of the Women's Resource Center of Manatee, can be reached at 941-747-6797.

This story was originally published April 26, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Ashley Brown: Do something every day and keep moving forward ."