In A Word - Year 2

What an adventure filled year 2010 was! I successfully recovered from an appendectomy, hiked in Yosemite, and became the mom of a Middle School child. We expect that 2011 will be just as full of adventures!

At this time last year, I bypassed New Year's Resolution making and went for an idea I had picked up from my friends at BLOOM. It was all about choosing a word for the year that exemplified a concept that was important my life. I chose the word Mindful. That word was a perfect choice as I had spent the better part of 2009 remembering to choose the better part, and then continued in 2010 being conscious and aware of the areas in my life needing improvement. That was just what I needed to be doing.

As this year begins, I find that I need to get moving...on everything. I have refined my decision making and given lots of thought to the good things I need to be doing, however, I have been really lagging in the action part of accomplishment.

The word I've chosen is f o c u s. I am in need of a verb for my year, but because I tend to get overwhelmed as I see everything that needs doing, and I see it all at one time, I need to narrow the field of vision a bit. As I move into this year, my focus will be moving and doing, but I will practice focusing on specific things rather than insanely attempting to multi task. I'd like my days to be filled with single, accomplishable goals. One goal at a time is what I need to begin to see some real progress. I will most likely have more than one goal operating as the year progresses, but as I add each goal, I will give each new goal some serious thought and consideration so that it will get the focus it requires for me to complete the task. For me, focusing on finishing is where it's at. I love the Latin definition, "domestic hearth." What better place to focus my attention than right here at home?

p.s. Scroll down for 25 in 2010

In A Word...

Well here we are. A new year. I normally have that Spring Cleaning feeling right after Christmas. I think it has something to do with the amount of Christmas-related clutter that starts to take over the house. When the tree comes down and all the decorations go back, the house gets a good cleaning that often includes some clean-out so that newly acquired items will have a home.

The new year is traditionally a time for resolutions. I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions. I figure if you have a big problem to work on or a goal you want to accomplish, you don't have to wait for a new year to get started.

As I reviewed events for 2009, I noticed that I had grasped a concept that has become a mantra so-to-speak these last few months. It is the concept of "choosing the better part." I have become better at deciding which events and activities will have more long-reaching importance in my life or the life of my children. I have found so much peace. I still hate it when my house is dirty, but I'm not as stressed about it.

Having this phrase to focus on has helped in many areas, and I will keep this in mind as I go through the year. I've also decided to choose a word this year that will be a "theme" to help me focus on many goals that I have. I was reading a post on a blog I follow (see column to the right, "Bloom") and discovered a word that really fit.

Mindful

I like it. Mindful means simply to be conscious or aware of something. I need to be mindful of many things: my weight, my children, my marriage, my friends, my home, my faith... There are so many goals I have. I believe that being aware and cognizant of them may help rather than what I usually do which consists of becoming so wrapped up in the pace of life that I forget what is important.

We'll see how it goes.

If you were to choose a word that would be your overall theme for the year, what would it be?