It’s that time of year again when everyone is making their resolutions for the new year. “I’m going to work out more.” “I’m going to eat healthy.” “I’m going to see my kids more.” Each year, we make these promises to ourselves and by March we have either forgotten them or given up on them. This is why I set a word every year. And with that word, I make small, achievable goals that reflect my word.
This actually started the year my mom died. My family and I were at church and the pastor was talking about a word instead of resolutions. See, if you set a word you can build goals around it and find positive strides you made toward that word at the end of the year. My first word in 2011 was renewal. In 2010 my mom died which in turn meant I lost my permanent address. At the age of 19, I spent the last month of 2010 trying to figure out what the rest of my life was going to look like. I needed the renewal, just a word, that could be my mantra throughout the year. I remember I renewed friendships, I renewed my spirit at school and by the end of the year was making better grades. I renewed myself because I was now having to be a completely functioning adult living in a dorm alone, paying bills, working almost full time, while trying to be a full time student, and you know, live a little.
Since then I have had words like hope, change, joy, and this year was build. I chose this word for 2018 mostly because I knew I had an upcoming hip surgery that was going to cause me to build my entire body back up in rehab. This being said, I took the word build to other aspects of my life. I built a blog, I built new friendships and built on old ones. I built better habits of waking up early to get work done and enjoy my coffee instead of running out the door. I set the groundwork for building better boundaries in the coming year. 2018 was full of building. Today as I am reflecting on 2018’s mantra, I am satisfied in the small goals I have made. I didn’t complete all the goals I had set out to make this year, but I am happy that I spent 2018 building.
If you were to set a word for 2019, what would it be? Stay tuned for mine tomorrow!