This is my fourth year of choosing a "word of the year", instead of making resolutions. Resolutions never work for me -- they just may me feel like a failure a few weeks later. The first time I heard of a word of the year, I thought it was such a cool idea. Instead of writing out a long list of unattainable goals, simply take one word that can be applied to every aspect of your life. For instance, my first word of the year was "health" -- the idea was not to run five miles a day and eat all organic foods. Rather, the idea was to apply the word "health" to different aspects of life. In relationships, I made a conscious effort to strive for health; I applied the idea to finances, time management, etc. At the end of the year, my life was not perfect, but it was healthier.
Since that first year, I have chosen the word "beauty", which I talked about here, and I have chosen the word "simplify". Simplify was probably the hardest word of the year to put into practice. Our life had been so complex for so long. The most important thing that made the word "simplify" work was our new granddaughter. She's turned out to be kind of a big deal, and she and her mommy were living with us while her daddy served in Afghanistan. We wanted to cherish every. single. moment. with our sweet grandbaby! In spite of the fact that we had two renovations in progress, we brought everything to a screeching halt and snuggled in with our little sweetie.
I needed to simplify my blogging life, as well, by returning to the concept "of blogging without obligation". This turned out to be easier than expected, as my computer crashed and my camera broke right after choosing to "simplify" (kind of a "God" moment)! Any blogging and photography that was done in 2012 was done with a cell phone camera and a borrowed and barely functional laptop. I did continue to blog regularly, of course, but I gave myself permission to blog at a pace that was comfortable for our family.
When our son-in-law returned safely from Afghanistan, our daughter and granddaughter returned to Colorado, and we resumed our renovation projects, they didn't all make it into the blog, because, frankly, it's not always "simple" to photograph and document everything. That's okay. Simplifying our lives was more important. We needed the space and freedom simplicity gave us.
This year I'm moving in a new direction. My word for 2013 is "action". This does not mean I will suddenly become a marathon running super hero type! Again, the word is just a guide to be applied to aspects of your life. It could mean purposely parking at the far side of the parking lot or taking the stairs. Or it might mean picking up the phone and calling a distant friend or relative, instead of just thinking you should call them. It's asking yourself "what can I do right now to make a better life for myself or others?" The action doesn't need to be monumental -- maybe it will be something as easy as holding the door open for someone.
Ironically, I have literally been sick since New Year's Eve with that nasty cold and cough thing that has been going around. Now, I am not one to get over a cough easily, I always try to "power through" and end up making myself sicker for much longer. So, here I am, coughing and sneezing and thinking, "my word of the year is action. I must. push. on!" WRONG! I realized, after trying to power through, that I wasn't using my word right. Did you know that "rest" is an action word? It is. I had one of those "duh" moments, realizing that sometimes taking action means slowing down, sitting down, or even laying down. The idea of choosing "action" as my word is to thoughtfully apply my actions to living, and sometimes that means you just need to get some rest.
I continued to do the things that needed doing -- and stopped doing the things that didn't need doing. Period. So, here I sit, well into the month of January, with "action" for my word of the year, and the most physical activity I've had is laundry! But don't worry, I've gotten quite a bit of other stuff done-- including lots of negotiating and paperwork. After doing three renovations in as many years, we're under contract for another property. And guess what? It needs some work. :)
Since that first year, I have chosen the word "beauty", which I talked about here, and I have chosen the word "simplify". Simplify was probably the hardest word of the year to put into practice. Our life had been so complex for so long. The most important thing that made the word "simplify" work was our new granddaughter. She's turned out to be kind of a big deal, and she and her mommy were living with us while her daddy served in Afghanistan. We wanted to cherish every. single. moment. with our sweet grandbaby! In spite of the fact that we had two renovations in progress, we brought everything to a screeching halt and snuggled in with our little sweetie.
I needed to simplify my blogging life, as well, by returning to the concept "of blogging without obligation". This turned out to be easier than expected, as my computer crashed and my camera broke right after choosing to "simplify" (kind of a "God" moment)! Any blogging and photography that was done in 2012 was done with a cell phone camera and a borrowed and barely functional laptop. I did continue to blog regularly, of course, but I gave myself permission to blog at a pace that was comfortable for our family.
When our son-in-law returned safely from Afghanistan, our daughter and granddaughter returned to Colorado, and we resumed our renovation projects, they didn't all make it into the blog, because, frankly, it's not always "simple" to photograph and document everything. That's okay. Simplifying our lives was more important. We needed the space and freedom simplicity gave us.
This year I'm moving in a new direction. My word for 2013 is "action". This does not mean I will suddenly become a marathon running super hero type! Again, the word is just a guide to be applied to aspects of your life. It could mean purposely parking at the far side of the parking lot or taking the stairs. Or it might mean picking up the phone and calling a distant friend or relative, instead of just thinking you should call them. It's asking yourself "what can I do right now to make a better life for myself or others?" The action doesn't need to be monumental -- maybe it will be something as easy as holding the door open for someone.
Ironically, I have literally been sick since New Year's Eve with that nasty cold and cough thing that has been going around. Now, I am not one to get over a cough easily, I always try to "power through" and end up making myself sicker for much longer. So, here I am, coughing and sneezing and thinking, "my word of the year is action. I must. push. on!" WRONG! I realized, after trying to power through, that I wasn't using my word right. Did you know that "rest" is an action word? It is. I had one of those "duh" moments, realizing that sometimes taking action means slowing down, sitting down, or even laying down. The idea of choosing "action" as my word is to thoughtfully apply my actions to living, and sometimes that means you just need to get some rest.
I continued to do the things that needed doing -- and stopped doing the things that didn't need doing. Period. So, here I sit, well into the month of January, with "action" for my word of the year, and the most physical activity I've had is laundry! But don't worry, I've gotten quite a bit of other stuff done-- including lots of negotiating and paperwork. After doing three renovations in as many years, we're under contract for another property. And guess what? It needs some work. :)