Hi, friends! It’s that time again.
Time to wipe the slate clean. Time for reflection and renewal.
Time for a new word for the year.
Have you ever done this? Chosen a word that you cling to for the year to help guide you through or give you a home base when you wander? I challenge dare you to try it this year. Friend, you will amaze yourself with what you can accomplish in your life with this one little word!
I started this back in 2018 and then reflected on it the next year. It was fun to see what I actually accomplished and what I didn’t. It gave me a way to pause and assess how it was going and change course to help me become a better version of myself.
Choosing a word is always thought provoking and challenging. I think about the past year, what I didn’t have going for me and what will challenge me to make changes that move me towards a goal I so desperately want to achieve.
It is sort of a proclamation. A statement. A decree.
And after long thought I have decided on a word. If you know me you will be very surprised. It should be “organized”, but it is not.
Are you ready??
SELF.
In all the ways possible to use that word- the challenge will be to recognize how to apply the word and when. Not “self” in a bad way, but a positive, goal crushing way.
SELF-care
SELF-less
SELF-ish
SELF-aware
SELF-discipline
I have a hard time prioritizing myself. I have been a wife and a mom for a REALLY long time and “SELF” only really applies to “selfless”.
I am sure that a lot of you feel the same way I do. Or have at some point in your life.
Recently it has gotten worse. I haven’t taken time for myself. At all. I haven’t been selfish or given myself real self care. I have given every part of me to everyone else and I always come last. I cancel work out appointments I have with myself. I don’t sit down and make phone calls to friends who make me laugh. I don’t take a lot of time to work on the things I love that fill my bucket and….you can’t pour from an empty bucket!
I think that this year might get hard. My husband is sick again and the unpredictability of it all is exhausting. I need to be sure to fill my bucket so I can pour into others. That in itself will be a challenge, but I am going to figure out how to do it. Even if it means that I have to be a little selfish at times. I hate being selfish and that does not come naturally to me.
I also want to be self-aware. I read somewhere that there are 5 qualities that make you self aware:
- Humility. Perhaps there is nothing more beautiful or powerful than a humble person.
- Discipline. The distance between two points in life is determined by your discipline to get there.
- Gratitude. Gratitude turns what we have into enough.
- Integrity. Integrity is the ability to persist with one’s beliefs through the headwinds of life.
- Passion. Passion is love.
I don’t have any specific plans for what the year looks like just yet or when I will apply the concept of SELF. I kind of gave up planning the past few years as I have realized that life does not go according to plan. BUT, this gives me a place come back to so that I can redirect my course and remember what I want this year to build in my life.
Now, what is YOUR word for the year?? You have to try it and I am here for it!
Good morning April!
You are a beautiful person! I love following your account – your encouragement and positivity! I am praying for you and your family!! Let’s have an awesome 2022 – whatever it brings!!!
Good morning, Debbie! Thank you so much. I am hopeful for a good 2022! Thank you for your prayers and I hope you have an amazing year, too!