It's been years since I've made a New Year's Resolution (or multiples). At one point, I said I don't make resolutions, I make myself promises because I don't like to break a promise. Then at some point I started seeing all over the internet how we need to pick a word or phrase that we want to represent the coming year. The first year I picked a word was 2020. I said PURPOSE was my word and that everything I was going to do in my day to day life would have a purpose. I was going to use my time wisely. No mindless scrolling until I knew that what I should get done or need to get done was done...and then...well...what level of Jumanji are we in now...
I finally filled a journal. My husband got me a cute Harry Potter journal for Christmas in 2019 and I put it on my night stand with the intention to write in it for 5 minutes every night before I went to sleep. I started writing in January 2020 and I missed a few days or a week here and there and then on December 31st, 2020 I note that my last entry was April 1st. It was the beginning of lockdown and while I'm sad I didn't journal, I also know what kind of a headspace I was in and the amount of negativity that would have filled the lines.
I just looked through a few pages and I don't know that I picked a word for 2021 but I was attempting to Choose Joy all year. January 2021 was the first time I had ever read a devotional book. This lead to doing a second round in February as well as purchasing my first bible (I've tagged a couple related posts if you want to see a deeper dive into that journey). Off and on I continued to try and figure out what I wanted to do. I got my Nutrition Coach certification but overall...I don't know that "Joy" would be the word for the year.
I feel like that last few years have just been a blur. It's possible that at some point at the end of 2021 I was watching something and decided that my word for 2022 would be TRY. I don't know what I needed to try to do other than keep my head above the water. I honestly think that making "try" my word was a cop out and I definitely feel like I fell short in a lot of ways. So when we were in full on wrap up mode to kiss 2022 good-bye, I saw someone who I admire that has been sharing her struggles ask for our mantras, words, phrases that we were going to use to carry us through 2023.
I had been "try"ing to think of my word for 2023...and when I put my pen to paper these came out:
Every time over the last few weeks that I would think about what I want from this year to determine my word, I kept coming back to Intention/Intentional. I decided it would be Intentional. I'll be intentional with my time and my energy. I kind of started that last week by making sure that my co-workers understand that I am not going to be the yes-man I was when I was there 3 years ago. I was made to feel like I had to say yes to everything that was asked of me because I was a salary employee. This time I am hourly and part time. If you need me and I'm not logged into the computer, you're gonna have to wait. No work will be done from my phone!
I don't know what is in store for me this year or for my family. I know there are some things that are already set for this year but a lot of it is a mystery! Oddly enough, this is also the first time in the last few years where I actually am feeling optimistic about this year! So, cheers to 2023 and all that it has to offer!
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