It’s a new year, so you know what that means: New Years’ resolutions! A lot of people are skipping those resolutions this year in favor of setting an intention of a single word to represent what they want to embody for the upcoming year.
I’m not sure where this idea originated, but I first heard about it from Christine Kane back in 2007. As soon as I read her post, I knew this was a practice I could get behind because New Year’s resolutions simply don’t work for me. As much as I crave structure and routine, traditional resolutions are just too stifling for me. They are completely uninspiring. They are too full of shoulds and guilt.
My word for 2010 was EMERGE, and it was a good word. 2011′s THRIVE was a natural extension of that energy. Unfortunately, I got lost somewhere along the way and it didn’t serve me as I had hoped it would. I did very little thriving last year.
Very little.
So, as I head into 2012, I am not the happy, healthy, successful, growing/thriving artist and writer that I imagined myself being at this point in my life. I need to backtrack and rethink how I’m approaching my life. Not just from an action point-of-view, but from an idea point-of-view, too. How I think about my life, how I belly up to life’s bar.
I need to make some changes — a lot of changes! I need to think differently and act differently. I’m not sure how to do it, as my habits are pretty deeply ingrained in my personality. I’m not sure how to proceed, but I’m convinced that I need to make some changes.
Given this need, it seemed that CHANGE might be the ideal word for me, and I seriously considered it for several days. It seemed almost right. Then someone mentioned that her word for 2012 was DELIBERATE, and it suddenly occurred to me: DELIBERATE is the perfect word!
There are many changes that I want to make in my life in 2012: I want to take better care of my health, make more art. Write more. I want to share my art with others more. I want to learn some new creative skills and make new friends.
What do all these changes have in common? I want to be more proactive and less reactive. I want to be more present in my life. I want to make more decisions about my life and do less blundering along.
The unifying theme is that I want to live more deliberately, more on purpose.
I’m excited about 2012. I feel better than I’ve felt in several months. I’m inspired. I’m happy. And I’m looking forward to what 2012 has in store for me.
Did you make any resolutions, or did you choose a word? What are your goals for the New Year?
This post is part of WordHop 2012, a blog hop sponsored by FlyTribe, a creative support group born out of the 2011 Summer Session of Kelly Rae Roberts‘ online class (Flying Lessons). For more inspiration, visit other Flyers for their thoughts on their words for 2012.
