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Thursday, January 2, 2014

My "One Little Word" in 2014

This is not the first time I've admitted out loud that I am not good at resolutions. I liked not having anything definitive to work toward last year, but at the same time, I missed not having a goal. Because even though I fail at resolutions, I'm good with deadlines. Go figure.

Four years ago, in 2010, I jumped on the One Little Word bandwagon. My word that year was calm. I think I was moderately successful at adopting the word that year. We had a word for our little family in 2011 - trust - and that was a great one since we had a lot of changes. In 2012, our word was connect, but since I spent most of the year pregnant (and sick), we did not dedicate a lot of our time to thinking about how that word could influence us.

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll also find it no secret that I get stressed out about things....a lot. I frequently (here, here, here) vent express my feelings about this in writing. Regardless of how many times I hash it out, the frustration rears its ugly head time and again. I am smart enough to realize that I'm never going to completely conquer this battle with myself, but I really want to try.

So, my word for 2014? It's accept.



Accept that I'm not going to get it all done. And that it's okay.

Accept that my kids are very young, but they're growing up fast - and I don't want to spend my time with them worried and fretful. 

Accept offers of help. It's actually not possible for me to do everything by myself. 

Accept that it's unlikely my sleep quality will ever be anything near "good" again. 

Accept that my house will never be clean. 

Accept that no one cares if I don't fix my hair or wear more than pajamas for five days in a row.

Accept that I can't control everything. If my kids don't eat organic food or have structured preschool activities every day, the only person who really and truly cares is me.

Accept the good days and the bad days and the crazy for what they are, and enjoy them. Because this is the one chance I get to be a mama to my precious babies.

I've always found it a great idea to have a visual reminder of the word of the year. The first year I came up with a theme word, I made a graphic and hung it on my bedroom wall, intending to update the frame each year. You can probably guess that I'm about to tell you I'm still reminded of calm every time I look at it. So, I think this blog post will have to be it for 2014. I'm hoping to come back and reference this post often.

Are you participating in the One Little Word challenge? What's your word for 2014?

Maybe I'll regret it, but I just decided I'm adding one real, actual resolution. It's bake lots of cookies. In 2010, I resolved to bake 20 batches of cookies. Around batch 2, I lost interest. Um, that can definitely be improved this year.

2 comments:

  1. I think my word(s) for this year is "Let go." I've realized I have a lot of stuff that I hold on to thinking that it will somehow keep me safe or I will "need" it. I'm normally not this introspective but I've been realizing lately that I'm going to turn into exactly the people I do NOT want to be like if I don't start being intentional. It's hard for me to let go of hurts, irritations, things I want or never achieved, stress, that person who ticked me off today, and just regular junk that I don't use anymore but can't let myself get rid of. I always tend to focus on the negative and I want to be a happier person this year. I can't just tell myself to stay calm, because I've learned that stuffing it and hording just makes it worse and adds to my stress levels. I'm tired of dreading every single day of my life.
    So, here's to me letting go this year and not trying to hold on to everything and control everything. Thankfully, my husband has agreed to help me through this. :)

    Wow, that was long. I think I just blog-jacked you. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blog-jack anytime, friend! We're having lunch soon, okay? :)

      Delete

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