The calendar year allows us a tangible ways to measure our successes and sorrows. I love Ali Edward’s One Little Word Project where you choose a word to focus on and define your decisions for the year.
In our house we have goals but we have themes for the year. Last year’s goal was to be more actionable- because we often plan too much you don’t allow ourselves to take leaps and risks for new opportunities or life changes. So 2017 was a great year- My business grew leaps and bounds, we began house hunting, and we got engaged. 2017 was full of so many yeses and I loved it. At the same time I found myself saying yes to many things and often being spread too thin.
“But you can’t have yes without no. Another way to say it: if you’re not careful with your yeses, you start to say no to some very important things without even realizing it. In my rampant yes-yes-yes-ing, I said no, without intending to, to rest, to peace, to groundedness, to listening, to deep and slow connection, built over years instead of moments.”
When you spread yourself too think you aren’t doing anyone a favor. Have you ever heard the phrase “You can’t pour from an empty cup? Yep. That was me.
In all of my yesing and being “actionable” I was saying no to some of the things that are most important to me.
I started to feel guilty that I didn’t take Jax on enough hikes, and that I was overwhelmed with deadlines. I felt guilty when we didn’t go on enough dates or I didn’t get to see my family and friends as much as I felt like I needed to. I felt guilty that I didn’t blog enough.
The word I am choosing this year is “Intentional.”
I am learning to be intentional with the work that I take on and the way that I choose to spend my time. I want to be intentional with the way that I spend time on my phone, and on social media. I want to be intentional about the things that I bring into our home so that they add value and not clutter. I want to be intentional with my body and health so that I can be strong mentally and physically.
And I want to be intentional with my business that I am so grateful for. So that I can love my clients and serve them well.
So here is to a New Year- A fresh start towards being intentional!
