New Year, New Word
New Year’s Resolutions. Some years I make them. Some years I don’t. But every year, as we turn the calendar, I do reflect on the past year and think ahead to the next. What do I want to accomplish in the coming year? What changes do I want to make? What do I want my life to look like a year from now?
In 2008, it became official. I am a workaholic. I love my work. It is meaningful and rewarding. Finishing graduate school added another layer of work. It was enjoyable (okay, writing my thesis wasn’t exactly fun, but I loved what I studied and I did graduate this fall).
I like being a workaholic. But things have suffered this year. I worked out less. I had less time for friends. I didn’t read nearly as much as I would have liked. I said, “I have to work” to my kids, more often than I wished I had.
I want more balance in my life. Not perfect harmony. Just more exercise, more time for reading, more time with the people I care about. More control over my minutes, hours and days.
My word for 2009 is balance. I am putting an Empoword balance window cling on my bathroom mirror. My office window too. Every time I glance at that cling throughout the day (and year), I will think about my balance affirmations:
“I manage my time well. I have ample time to work AND play.”
“When I make time for exercise, reading, friends and family, I feel more grounded.”
“Balance is holistic wellness in action.”
What do you want to accomplish in 2009? What do you want to change? What do you want your life to look like a year from now? What is your word for 2009? Maybe we should add it to the Empoword line.
Happy New Year!
- Stephanie Ross
Empoword Co-CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer)
New Year’s Resolutions. What a loaded statement for me. It comes with hope and possibility, but also a heavy feeling of responsibility to make my resolutions stick. So I usually don’t make them. But like Stephanie, I always take time to reflect on the past year and think ahead to how I’d like the next year to go and what my overall goals are. I guess it is just another way to make resolutions, but a way for me to feel good about them in a positive light.
What am I thinking about for the year ahead? This year, I am picking a word to guide me. Breathe. I want take it all in this year. Be in the moment – not think ahead to what I have to do, where I have to be, what comes next.
Breathe will help me do just that. Breathe. I want to stop what I am doing when my kids say, “Hey Mom, look at this.” I want to take time with my spouse at the end of every day. The computer and email and cell phone will still be there. I want to be in the moment when I am with friends. Listening to what they say, enjoying their company.
In 2008, my dad’s cancer reoccurred in a big way. He fought it hard and is now in remission. I learned from that it’s the small moments together that make the memories. Stopping. Looking around. Noticing. Breathing. I want to appreciate the time we have together.
I also want to breathe in the mundane moments. Breathe, when I am driving and running late. (A breathe cling is going in my car.) Breathe, when I get frustrated at my kids or husband. (A breathe cling is going on my laptop in the kitchen.)
It is amazing to me what happens when I set an intention and actually focus on it. I am excited for 2009 and all that lies ahead. And I am already breathing easier!
-Wendy Lutter
Empoword co-founder and Co-CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer)
I too don’t normally make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. But, I caught myself reflecting on the previous year and asked myself, did I live the life that I was meant too in 2008. Did I bring the gifts and talents that I was meant to bring to the world in 2008? Simply, I thought, no.
So, this 2009, my word is INTENTION. I will be fully present and conscious with my intention to live the fullest life possible. I will no longer be guarded by fear (you know that endless loop that keeps playing in your head). I’m stepping out of the box. I will not measure myself by how successful I am at my job, but by how my work can impact someone else’s life.
I will not measure myself by how much I have, because what I have right now is all I will ever need.
Here’s to 2009 and beyond.