Talk to any small child and they probably have a lot of favorites: their favorite color, their favorite number, their favorite dinosaur, their favorite chicken nugget shape.

As we grow up, those favorites just seem to slip away. I’d be hard pressed to name a dinosaur much less my favorite kind. 

But lately I have found myself gravitating toward certain words that all start with the same letter. I don’t usually play favorites - although my kids may beg to differ - but it seems like there are a lot of “C” words that tend to convey getting things done, words that lend themselves to positivity, words that encourage me to move forward.

Chance - Possibility of something happening

It is easy to get stuck doing the same thing over and over because you know the likely outcome. By taking a chance, something will happen, something will change.
There is a possibility, that something may be negative. But without seizing the opportunity, you will never know if it could have had a positive outcome.

Choice - Deciding between two or more possibilities

Every day, we make choices from what time to get up in the morning to what you will do with your spare time. Those choices add up and make a difference in your life and in your community.

You can choose to sleep in and skip your workout for the day. Or you can choose to get up every morning to workout, where you will maintain - or more likely - grow your fitness and health.

You can choose to not get involved in your community and just let others make all the decisions. Or you can choose to get involved and to volunteer your spare time, where you will maintain - or more likely - grow your community. 

Change - Make different or replace with something better

Many people think that “status quo” is O.K. but actually status quo leans toward decline. The world is constantly changing and if we aren’t changing with it, then we are falling behind. We have to be willing to adapt and to be willing to try new things if we want to move forward. Because the other option is just slowly - but surely - dwindling away.

Collaborate - Working with someone to produce or create something

This is perhaps the word that has gained the most traction in recent years in our community. More and more organizations are coming together to get things done and we can see the impact it is having on the projects and events that are taking place. Collaboration is directly related to choice: every day we make the choice to go alone or work together and one of those ideas gets big things done.

I have so many more “C” words that are constantly swirling around in my head: 

connections, the relationships between people and ideas; 

conversations, where people share ideas; 

capacity, focusing on what is capable in your community, both financially and from community members; 

creativity, using our imagination and bringing forward new ideas; and 

commitment, dedicating time and resources to a cause and activity.

So all these words relate to the final “C” word which I am saying constantly: Community. 

Words do matter. Words affect how we think about our community. Words determine how we feel about our community. Words are literally how we speak about our community and convey to others our attitude toward our own hometowns.

We need to embrace these words if we want our community to be around years from now. We need to utilize the ideas if want our communities to grow and thrive. And we need to focus on these concepts if we want to make McCook and Southwest Nebraska an even better place to call home.