Here we are again. The year has ticked its first minutes, and people are freshly loaded with plans for a newer, better them. Circulars are stuffed with treadmills, organization bins, and financial paraphernalia. Weight Watchers & Jenny Craig ads are running amok as they try to gather all those well-intended resolutions before the willpower runs to empty and the abandoned plans lie dead in the battlefield.
As I mentioned last year, I forego resolutions. Not that I don’t think I need improvement, mind you. I’m forlorn to find an area of Erin that does NOT need prodding, coaching, and general upheaval. But, I find the endless hamster wheel of resolutions to be tiring and defeating. So, I choose to focus instead on one word. No detailed plan. No fail or pass. Just focus.
Last year, my word was “thankful”. I’d found myself bemoaning my current status and wishing for something more far too often, and I knew I had a cornucopia of blessings that I chose to belittle with all my coveting. So, I was thankful. Sometimes. Honestly, I lost my focus a lot. Being outwardly thankful was a lot easier than the inner battle. There’s a lot I want in this big world! But, I found an abundance to love about being grateful to others. Did you know that people are really nice to you when you express appreciation? Yup. My Verbal Gratitude Project was a highlight of my efforts. Every day in November, I contacted at least one person to thank them for their presence and influence in my life. It was hard and incredibly rewarding. I hope the lessons I learned about gratitude last year stick with me.
For all I learned, I felt I still participated in entirely too much wishin’ and hopin’. My “if only” list stuck like toilet paper to my shoe and refused to be flushed. So, for 2012, I chose the word “centered”. I believe it will by my hardest choice thus far. I must choose every day to live for Christ and keep Him completely as my axis. Sounds easy enough, right? I disagree. To say I choose Christ is easy, but to do so in action and thought is a completely different thing. For me, it means each word I utter and move of a limb should be in response to my love and desire for Him. I know that He is the key to absolving my want for “more” in life. So, I make no move without His consultation. I do not allow myself to forget about Him for a moment and trust completely in His direction for my life…without my input. In doing so, I’ll be ignoring my own desires and taming all those wants. Gulp.
Of course, focusing on my one word doesn’t accomplish much on my to-do list, so I still have business and personal goals for the year. My business goals are boring and likely extremely uninteresting to you. Well, my personal goals and one word commitment are probably boring and extremely uninteresting to you as well! What are your goals for these next dozen months? What improvements are you searching for and why? I hope you achieve each and everything you truly need. I’d love to hear how you are choosing to be a better you in 2012!
A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. - Galatians 6: 7-8
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