How I got Stronger this week: I woke up every single day this week and exercised. I was quieter and more reserved. Or I tried to be. I went to bed early every night. I showed up even when I didn’t feel like it. I showed up for my friend, several times.
Top Goals Review: I started my food plan, finished reviewing david’s essays and did todo list for work. Matching still needs a bit more work. So does my calendar.
I celebrate: starting my exercise and food regimen. I am really proud of myself. especially for the cardio which is so hard for me.
I am grateful for: this being a light week. there was no traffic and i was able to work from home all week and it was just a lovely transition.
Karen’s Points: I did well this week so far. I’m keeping track on a spreadsheet and journaling daily about my thoughts. It’s not easy. I don’t love the exercising and I do want to quit it all every day, but I promised myself I’d give it a try so I am not quitting until that’s over.
A Change I embraced: Waking up and exercising first thing. Adding cardio. These are big changes for me. Oh and I guess the Whole30 counts, too 🙂
I let go of: sugar and caffeine this week. it was really really really hard.
Core Desired Feelings Check-in:
- Fresh: Hmm fresh new way of looking at food this week.
- Magical: This week’s magical moment is when I snuggle up with Nathaniel in bed in the dark and we laugh and hug. I love it so.
- Lighter: I’ve been taking it easier at work so far. Doing things but trying not to feel panic around them and just taking it all one step at a time.
- True: One way I’ve stayed true to myself this week has been going to bed really early. I’ve gone to bed between 7-9 all week and it’s been wonderful to rest.
Where I chose Joy: Hmmm….I think I’ve had a lot of joy taking my kids back and forth to the school bus this week. I know that sounds odd, but I love those moments together.
I showed up for: for David this week. He lost his backpack so I ended up having to drive all the way to the school but it was worth it. (He found it!)
A Mistake I made this week: I didn’t respond the way I would have liked on Friday when he lost yet another item.
What I tolerated this week: Feeling hungry and tired all week.
My mood this week was: meh. but not bad. just sort of slow.
I forgive myself for: not getting as much done. taking it slow.
What I love right now: I love the slow start to this year. I love that I am trying to be more level-headed. I hope I can continue some of this attitude and perspective.
Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018 here.
I started scrapping when David was born and have done it in some capacity or another for ten years. At some point, I was on at least four design teams. It was all wonderful and I enjoyed every moment of it but about two years ago, I stopped most of it. I still do a few projects a year. Most notably, I do One Little Word, December Daily and the occasional Day in the Life or Week in the Life projects. But I used to scrap a lot more and I just don’t anymore. Even though I am mostly okay not to be scrapping, the part I miss is capturing and telling the little daily stories of our lives. But Project Life never really worked for me so I wasn’t sure what to do and I’d pretty much given up, until I saw all these wonderful posts from Stephanie Howell about her happy planner, I sat on it for a few more weeks but then I decided I wanted to give it a try. It seemed simple enough and I knew it would give me a reason to take more photos and tell more stories from our day.
So I bought this journal and then I drove down to Michael’s and bought a bunch of the sticker books and the punch (which I’ve only used once.) and I also bought this polaroid printer (which I no longer use.) And I got to work.
Twenty weeks later, it’s my very favorite project!
- I love how simple it is.
- I love how it encourages me to take more photos without adding too much pressure.
- I love how I can glance at my whole week at once.
- I love how it combines words and photos and if I want I can have more photos and fewer words or vice versa.
- I love how I can glance at my whole year in one book.
- I love everything about this project!
I wanted to make sure not to spend a ton of money on this project up front in case it didn’t stick. So after about ten weeks when I knew I was keeping up with with and enjoying it, I let myself add a few more items to my pile. Here are all the things I have/use now:
- Punches: I have this punch and this punch but I use both of them pretty rarely but I like having them. I’d say neither is required.
- Printers: As I mentioned, I started with the polaroid printer even though I already had an instax. I knew the polaroids were exactly the right size and I thought that would be worth it, but it didn’t take me long before I knew I absolutely hated the quality of those photos so I then I went searching for a small, compact printer for my desk. I ended up with this picturemate which I was lucky enough to find in “new” condition for $80 and I’ve been using it ever since. I am very happy with it.
- Stickers: I don’t use too many stickers but I bought a few packs and they’ve lasted me plenty so far. I’ve also bought a few deco pens, some washi tape, and one cardstock pack for a few addons (which I’ve only used once so far.)
Overall, it hasn’t been a huge investment for a project that brings me joy each week and will last 16 months. I will share the weekly layout here each week.
Moments from this Week 2018 is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018 here.
       
Since I’ve been home and sick most of this week, I read another big batch of course. All of these were read when it was still 2017 so they go in that category. It’s Friday here so I have two more days until this year’s over. It looks like I will finish this year having read 304 books or so. Definitely the most I’ve read in recent history.
I started this week with The Last Black Unicorn which I knew nothing about except that it showed up as recommended or best of the week in every site I visited. As it turned out, it wasn’t a good fit for me at all. I won’t go into the details because I think all the reasons I didn’t like this book were personal to me. Your mileage might vary.
Nourishing Intimacy was another one in my Audible pile and I can always use Tara Brach to take me to a better place. And this was wonderful, of course.
I then tackled Pema’s Coming Closer to Ourselves because it was also on my Audible pile. I love Pema Chodron. I love the way she speaks, I love her wisdom, her honestly, and how readily she shares how flawed she is. I am so glad to have discovered her.
I then read Stick with It because it looked like a good book to start new year’s plans with. It was okay but nothing magical for me. I feel like I stick with things in general so I wasn’t expecting a miracle here but it was still good.
I haven’t read enough Tony Robbins so I was excited to see Unlimited Power at the library but once I started it, I realized it was a super-abridged version at less than one hour. What I listened to was good but of course it was ridiculously short.
It Ends with Us was a recommendation by the most popular reviewer on Goodreads. I don’t usually read Colleen Hoover and I knew nothing about this book because the recommender said not to read what it’s about. I will say I read it super fast, however, I am not sure it was the right book for me. Had I read what it was about, I might have chosen not to read it.
I picked up Inventing Joy from the library and had no idea what it was about. I thought it was about joy but it’s not, it’s actually about a woman named Joy. The one who invented the miracle mop and her life was made into a movie a few years ago, which I’d watched and liked, so there really was no reason for me to read the book, but the reading was so compelling that I couldn’t stop. I really enjoyed it.
Motherest is the only other fiction I read this week, besides Colleen Hoover, and it was a story about families and mother-daughter relationship and I enjoyed it.
I am almost done with my next book and then have a few more on my pile, so we’ll see how many more I can get through.
Books I Read this Week 2018 is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018 here.
Years ago, when I was in my twenties and lived in New York City, I did Weight Watchers. There are many reasons I thought it was effective, but, by far, my favorite thing about it was that every single thing I ate had a numerical value attached to it. I am good with numbers. I liked having a number that helped me make decisions. I had 18 points a day and if I wanted a piece of chocolate, all I had to do was decide if the chocolate was worth four points. That was almost 20% of my daily points. If it was worth it, I’d eat it and if I thought it wasn’t, I wouldn’t. This is when I pretty much gave up pizza and muffins. Knowing how many points they were, there was never a time when I thought either of those two were worth it. Being able to look at food this way, as in I get something but I also give up something, made it easier for me to make a decision. In general, I think if we could all see the cost as well as the benefit easily, I think decision making becomes more fair and clearer.
Anyhow, so I as I was thinking about 2018 and my goal to nourish myself better and my goal to get stronger and my goal to focus on self-care more, I decided maybe a point system can help me here, too. So I am going to try this out. We’ll see if it’s effective.
Here’s how I am breaking things out:
- Exercise
- Minimum 10 minutes of Cardio – 1 point
- Minimum 10 minutes of Strength Training – 1 point
- Minimum 10 minutes of Stretching – 1 point
- Minimum 5 minutes on the muscle roller – 1 point
- Food
- Each Meal that contains fat, fiber, protein – 1 point, up to 3 points
- Caffeine-free day – 1 point
- (Processed) Sugar-free day – 1 point
- Self-Care
- Floss – 1 point
- Skin Cream – 1 point
- Face Wash – 1 point
- 8-hours of sleep – 1 point
- Journaling/Art – 1 point
- Any Extra Care including: mask, bath, oils, etc. – 1 bonus point
This is where I will start. This might look overwhelming to most people and the list might not make sense to you, these are things I want to work on so they make sense to me. It’s a way to keep myself honest. I specifically decided not to have any negative points. This is not about what I won’t do but more about what I will do. This is my January plan and as I do it, I will come up with a plan for February so we’ll see what happens there. I leave for Sydney on the last day of January so it will be a good reflection point for me.
If I am doing my math right, the maximum points possible for a day are: 15 (including the bonus point).
I am not sure if this is crazy or brilliant or something in between. I will find out. I strongly believe that the key to success in being intentional and I believe this will help me stay intentional about my goals. And if it turns out this doesn’t work, then we’ll try something new.
On My Mind is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018 here.
My boys are growing up which means they are spending more and more time bickering and arguing. Especially David, who is almost a teenager, is easily annoyed by the little boy. And, of course, all of this breaks my heart. I get sad watching them bicker. I get sad watching how cruelly David can speak to Nathaniel. I get sad watching their dynamic change and degrade.
But then there are moments like this. Moments where Nathaniel is too sick to be in the cold weather outside and David is playing with his new Christmas toy outside but wants to share it with Nathaniel, too, so they write each other notes and communicate that way.
Moments where I remember that this is what it means to be a sibling. You argue all the time but you also share all the memories of your childhood together. And those years and years and years of shared memories bind you in ways nothing else can. In ways that you will remember and reminisce over for the rest of your life. And that bond is special. That bond is why we wanted to make sure to have two kids.
And moments like this remind me that there’s still hope for the two of them. Slivers of joyous moments where they cherish each other’s company.
Stories from 2018 is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018here.
Weekly Intention: Hello the first week of 2018. I love that 2018 starts on a Monday, first day of the week, first day of the month and first day of the year. My intention this week is to start my year on the right foot. I have two days off and then three days on this week. I want to enjoy my days off but also get ready for hitting the ground running. My intention this week is to be motivated and to hold tight to my gratitude. I love my job, my life, and I love that the days are getting longer. Here’s to an amazing 2018.
This month’s intention is: Strong Silent Type: Your challenge this month is to speak less, listen more. How can you influence with fewer words. At work, at home, even in your own head. Pause one more beat before replying. Mute the VC. Wait six seconds. Do what it takes to give this a try. I think this is a perfect way to start the year. There is a lot I have to get done this month and I like the challenge of learning how to do it more quietly. Can I influence with fewer words?
One way I will stretch this week: Well adding cardio to all my days will be a stretch for me, even if only for 10 minutes. That’s my goal this week, 10 minutes of cardio every singe day. Let’s see if I can pull it off.
One boundary I will set this week: This is a good week to get things back on track so one boundary I will set is to take my bedtime back. I will set a hard deadline for 10pm. I ideally prefer to be in bed by 9:30 so I can slowly wind down to 10pm.
This week, I will focus on pleasing: Hmmm. I think this week will be mine. I want to focus hard on getting things started on the right foot so I think I will optimize on pleasing myself and making sure I spend energy and focus on the areas I would like to reset.
One new thing I will learn this week: This week is going to be dedicated to finding some 10-minute stretching exercises so I can learn how to stretch properly.
One area where I will go deeper this week: I will do some research into different ways to exercise self-care. I will make myself a list so I have ideas to pull from each day.
What do I need to sit with this week? I need to sit with all the new work I am doing this week and think about what’s working and what’s not working, I need to reflect on how I need to structure my life to align it better. I also need to sit with my calendar and understand how to structure it better so I can make sure to have breathing room.
I am looking forward to: Getting back into routine. I like downtime but I really, really like routine, even if it’s a bit too hectic.
This week’s challenges: I think just getting back into the swing of things will be challenging. Also going back to daily exercise after taking two weeks off.
Top Goals:
- Work: Clean calendar, make+sort todo list, finish matching
- Personal: start new nourish plan
- Family: get david’s essays sent for reading
I will focus on my values:
- Love: I want to give some love to my husband this week by helping him.
- Learn: I will learn and collect several videos for 10mins of cardio, stretching, and strength.
- Peace: I will note what gets in the way of my peace this week.
- Service: I will work with David to move his process forward.
- Gratitude: I will journal daily, even if briefly.
This week, I want to remember: that while first of the year is a great time for starting over, every single day, every single moment is an opportunity to start over so it’s ok to give myself grace and keep giving myself a million new chances. i got this.
Stronger Than Before is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018 here.
How I shone this week: Well, I did my best to make sure my kids and my wonderful husband had wonderful Christmas. I rested a lot. I spent a lot of time sitting with my kids and doing work. I also took care of Nathaniel who has been sick and I was also sick myself. I don’t think any of these count as fully shining but that’s all I got this week I’m afraid.
Things I wanted to get Done: I had no plans for this week. I just wanted to rest. Mostly, however, I got sick. I woke up Christmas morning, feeling not my best self. Nathaniel was also sick and later made David sick as well, so by midweek, all three of us were needing tissues by us pretty much the whole time. Jake thankfully managed to escape it by mostly being at work. We were thinking we might go away for a few days but Nathaniel’s cold left him with a painful present where his calves are in severe pain so he can’t really walk. Which means we can’t really go anywhere.
I celebrate: feeling a tiny bit better.
I am grateful for: these empty days, even though they do fill me with ennui, I am also grateful to slow down
I nourished myself by: not much more than last week. i’ve not been eating well. while it’s not super poor, it’s not nourishing. i have been reading a lot and really loving the rest puzzles seem to bring me.
Reflecting on my worries: i got a lot done so i don’t think it’s fair to torture myself. however i wasn’t worried about any of us getting sick and three of us did. i need to remember that few of the things i worry about happens and many of the things i don’t worry about do happen. life is unpredictable and worrying doesn’t help deter anything. i have to focus on living my life the best way i know how and have faith that i can handle whatever comes my way. and that i have the love and support of people when i need it.
I let go of: exercise. i didn’t exercise all week. i’ve been feeling unwell and i’ve been too tried. both of those are excuses and i know but I just let it go for this week.
Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love): this week, too, has been about resting and being with my peeps.
What made me laugh this week: my wonderful family of course.
What I tolerated this week: myself. i’ve been so whiny. work starts in a few days and i think i am both antsy to go back and feel i need oodles more time. I keep wavering between the two.
My mood this week was: sick.
I forgive myself for: being me. i have so many expectations out of myself. i judge myself off of a standard I am unlikely to ever meet. I’m just going to have to let it all go.
What I love right now: I’m loving getting to do so much work with both my kids. I am super proud of all the math they both know. Nathaniel who is eight can factor quadratic equations and David’s doing some hard-core Calculus at twelve. They are showing up, they are doing the hard work, and I am super-proud of them. Both my kids worked hard during this vacation. (They also played a lot so don’t worry.)
So here we are. We get to say goodbye to this year in just a few days. (I’m typing this on Friday.) This has been a tough year in the world. There have been so many natural disasters, so much terrorism, and a lot of worrying trends and changes. From that perspective, I am grateful to get to say good-bye to 2017 and really hope that 2018 will be better. On a personal note, 2017 was kind to me. All four of us were mostly healthy and have had a lot of wonderful surprises and successes this year. We’ve had setbacks, too, of course, but net-net I’d say it was a positive year. I am hoping that we all push a little harder, stretch a little bit more, and find new boundaries for ourselves in 2018. I hope we go on adventures. I hope we laugh a lot. I hope we hug a lot. I hope we treat each other kinder than necessary. I hope I get to have many experiences that feel fresh, magical, lighter, and true. And most of all, I hope 2018 leaves all of us stronger than before not because we have to but because we choose to.
Thank you 2017. I know it’s a privilege to be alive. I am grateful for all your gifts and challenges. If you read here, even occasionally, thank you for your support and I hope you leave a comment and say hi. Here’s to a wonderful 2018 for all of us!
My goals for the blog in 2017 were specific and routine and that worked relatively well for me. Here’s some of what worked well:
- Monthly art projects: I did indeed make 20 pieces of art each month. I loved all of them. Some months were really small and none of the months were really big but I loved them all.
- Living Intentionally and Weekly Reflection posts were my favorite and helped me stay connected to my goals, keep track of my intentions and remember to shine.
- Stories from 2017 was a great way to ensure I celebrated at least 52 moments from this year. I love going back to these and re-visiting my year, especially now that I don’t do much scrapbooking.
- Nourish Me was fantastic, especially after my focus shifted right into nourishing myself heavily in June-ish.
- Reading – I read like mad this year. Mostly audiobooks.
So all in all, 2017 was solid. I painted, I sketched, I took photos, I played with fabric, I painted rocks, I watercolored, I kept a travel journal, I lettered, I did some digital collages, I exercised a lot, ate better than before, I told stories of our life, I reflected and set intentions. I didn’t journal daily but I journaled a bunch. I read a lot. I took photos of us very often. I put this year in the win column. Deeply grateful.
For 2018, I decided to keep the same structure, mostly:
- Monday: Stronger than Before: This is the same as Living Intentionally posts last year. I want to think purposefully each week and set goals, choices, projects for just that week. I try to write these on Sunday nights. These help me be more mindful. They will also help me identify ways in which I can be stronger. I will fold several of the Nourish items into here.
- Tuesday: Stories from 2018: I did better with these in 2017 so I am optimistic I can continue into 2018. Even if it’s photos and a few words.
- Wednesday: On My Mind: I miss writing down my thoughts and general reflection so I think I will attempt to do this but I reserve the right to change things up if this becomes too burdensome.
- Thursday: Books This Week – I will talk about the books I read this week.
- Friday: Moments from this Week – This will be a spread in my Happy Planner where I put photos and words from the week.
- Sunday: Weekly Reflection: This, too, is the same as 2017. These posts help me to reflect on what worked and what didn’t work so I can set proper intentions for the following week.
These are the only weekly projects I will commit to. And even these I might do more irregularly, we’ll see. These all mean something to me and I’d like to do them and I believe almost all are pretty doable. We’ll see what surprises 2018 has in store for me.
For art I’d like to do what I did last year but maybe a bit less: 15 items a month. I don’t have something in my pocket for January so we’ll see where we are. Here are some of the ideas I had last year:
- Lettering
- Collage
- Sketching
- Doodling/Zentangling
- Mantras/My Word
- Art Journaling
- Quotes
- Photo a Day
- Month in the Life?
- Watercolor Blossoms
- Faces
- December Daily
- Fashion Ladies
- Line Drawing
- Chalk Art
All of these might happen, none of them might happen. I might repeat projects. I might do wildly different things. I will see if I can do something.
Here’s to a wonderful 2018. Here’s to doing more art. Here’s to making time to enjoy art. Here’s to learning new things. Here’s to practicing more. Here’s to reflecting. Being intentional. Creating a positive cycle. Here’s to getting stronger each day.
    
   
This was another big week for reading, mostly because I didn’t have to work this week so I got to have a lot of extra time to read. My goal this week was to go through my list of Audible purchases I’d made over the last two years. Since I spend most of my time on listening from the library, these monthly purchases were piling up so I wanted to get through them for once and all. And I’m now down to five or so. Major progress.
I thought The Solitude of Prime Numbers would be sweet and fun but it ended up not being so at all. I didn’t like it.
A Hundred Thousand Worlds was better and I enjoyed bits and pieces of it a lot. But overall, it still wasn’t one of my favorites, either.
I loved Krisopher Jansma’s previous short story collection so I was really looking forward to reading Why We Came to the City But either it was the wrong time or it just didn’t have the same magic as his previous book.
I was scared to read Artemis because I’d already heard it wasn’t nearly as good as The Martian. And unfortunately, the rumors were true. The book was okay but it was nothing, nothing as magical as The Martian. I hope that his next one is better!
I’ve read a few Anna Quindlen books over the years and I knew I was likely to enjoy Miller’s Valley and I was totally right. I really enjoyed it. Her storytelling is lovely.
The Flood Girls might be one of my favorites from this week. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it but then I really found myself getting into the story and loving all the characters. Liked this one.
I has started The Wangs vs. The World a while ago but never got back to it. I was delighted to finally finish it because it was really good. Funny, sweet, just a solid novel.
The Fishbowl was another one I’d started before but didn’t finish. I almost stopped reading this one twice but in the end I am glad I stuck with it. It was good.
I am now listening to The Hike which isn’t my usual style since it’s borderline horror but I am enjoying it so far. Maybe it’s because it’s also mystical a bit and well-told so far.
I am typing this on a Saturday so I have about 8 more days before 2017 is over. We’ll see how many more books I can tackle before then. The Hike is #294 so I am optimistic I might reach 300.
Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
As with all the previous years, I knew I wanted to pick my core desired feelings this year, too. If you want to know more about core desired feelings, please go to my post from 2016 and you can see the links there.
I was struggling at the end of this year and didn’t feel ready for new core desires. But I also didn’t really feel the need to keep my existing ones. So I woke up early one morning and even though I was feeling apathetic and no desire to do the exercises, I decided to give it a go anyway. And as they always do, they worked.
I mentioned last year that there’s a pattern to my words: I always pick something around peacefulness, something around being brave, something around being open, and then maybe a few new ones. So this year I was curious if I would break the trend.
Here’s what I came up with this year and what they each mean to me:
- Fresh: Maybe this is my brave word for this year. Fresh to me means something that’s new to me, something that stretches me, helps me grow and learn. Something that keeps me engaged and makes me feel alive. Something different. An adventure. A permission to explore. I was going to call this alive and then engaged but I found myself coming back to fresh again and again so fresh it is.
- Magical: I love this word. This one, too, took a while. I wanted to have it be wonder, or joy but I really feel the word magical in my bones. It’s feeling inspiring, joyful, awed, grateful, adventurous and love all rolled up in one. That incredible, magical feeling.
- Lighter: This is my peacefulness word this year. I want things to feel easy, unburdened, calm, free and kind. I want to put down the load I carry around. Less rush. Slower. Lighter. Easier. Maybe this is also my word around being open. Feeling light and not heavy, open and not constricted.
- True: I want everything I do to feel true to me. True to who I know myself to be in my heart. True to the best version of me. This feeling is like solid, belonging, knowing, peace, deliberate. This is how I feel when I know something is right.
So there we are.
I love all of these. Most importantly, I can immediately connect with the feeling I get when I say these words. I feel them in my bones. Which is the sign that they are the right words for me right now. I want to feel all of them and I want to make a point to look at my life and my choices through these lenses next year. Here’s to a fresh, magical, lighter and true 2018!
Mind:
- I read: A lot of books this week. Almost at the bottom of my audible pile.
- I learned: Calculus and Python still here. No new classes so far. Haven’t done any of the Machine Learning one.
- I watched: Two movies this week: Star Wars and Burn After Reading. We also watched a small amount of TV finally.
Body:
- Exercise: Well I was home all week so there’s been almost zero exercise. One day I did body pump at home but that’s it. I’ve been feeling guilty but also not motivated at the same time. So I am deciding to give myself a break and start again in the new year. If I get any in before the end of the year, it’s bonus.
- Food: Food was relatively bad I’ll admit. Mostly because I’ve been drinking inordinate amounts of coffee. And chocolate. I have made sure at least one of my meals is super healthy but in general I’d say it hasn’t been the healthiest week.
- Body Care: I’ve done nothing here. I have been resting a lot so we’re going to say that counts.
Soul:
- I rested: I’ve not been sleeping a lot but i’ve also been at home for the most part so that’s a lot of rest.
- I connected: A lot of time with family this week, of course. Also spent time with my friend Manu and my friend Leslie.
- I journaled: I journaled some more, too. Still making plans for 2018.
- I made art: December Daily has been slow and simple this year but I’ve been at it.
- Flowers: still filling my life and home with these and still loving it.
Didn’t quit coffee, still struggling with all of it but will figure it out soon!
Nourish Me Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
As with every year, I kept an ongoing list for my possible words in 2018. I tend to start this list around February because sometimes ideas come to me early in the year and I want to track them for different reasons. Throughout the year, different words feel like winners. They feel like they have potential. Here’s a peek at this year’s list:
- strong
- open
- light (not heavy) – lighten
- fresh
- balance
- tend
- calm
- alive
- whole
- belonging
Here is a reminder for my rules for picking a word:
- I don’t want to pick a word for something I wish I were. Like “easy” or “calm.” I feel that when I pick a word that’s likely to make me feel intimidated, I spend most of the year feeling bad about letting myself down. The word should push/encourage me but it shouldn’t be aspirational. It should be inspirational.
- I loved my 2015 word (brave) so much that I feel I am always trying to find a word that will be as magical as brave was for me. I am learning that I will just have to carry brave around with me forever and not worry about having such a powerful word each time. One of the gifts of brave was that I realized how brave I already was. It was a perspective-shifting word.
- Some words are more action oriented (like brave, adventure, nourish) and some are more introspective (like easy, equable, magic) and what I want is a combination of both.
As it seems to be my trend lately, I picked my word around July. Even though I went back and forth many times and I am still finding myself wavering at times, I’ve settled on STRONG for 2018.
This word came to me from several different angles: physical, mental, and emotional. I feel like I am in a good place at the moment and I want to build on this momentum to really take the time and strengthen areas of my life that I care about and want to focus on. Strong also has the potential to propel me like brave did so I am hoping it’s as impactful a word.
I made a list of some of the mottos I want to carry with me as I move my way through this year and towards a version of me that’s stronger than before. Many of these are inspired by the 13 things mentally strong people don’t do article.
Here they are, ways to be mentally, emotionally, and physically strong:
- Let Go of the Past: There is no need to hold on to the parts of me that don’t serve me or make me stronger. The past is in the past and I’ve already learned all the lessons it was here to offer me. It’s time to let it go and face forward. Each day is a new one and I get to decide who I choose to be on that day. The deal is: I do, I reflect, I learn, I do better.
- Take More Risks: This is not stupid risks like jumping off a cliff and hoping nothing happens. This is calculated risks. Pushing outside of my comfort zone. Finding the boundaries and then stretching them a bit. This is how I get stronger.
- Embrace Change: I don’t like change but so what? I can’t stop it from happening. Life is constant change and 90% of it is outside my control. So my plan this year is to do a 180 here. I embrace change. Bring it on!
- Create Boundaries: This is a really important one. If I don’t create my boundaries, people will create them for me. If I don’t decide my hours of work, people will call me at all hours. If I don’t decide who gets to hurt me, everyone will. Boundaries means I am self aware and I am intentional about my life.
- Choose Whom to Please: Similar to my boundaries, if I try to please everyone, i please no one. I need to prioritize and I need to consciously choose who matters. Everyone doesn’t matter equally.
- Learn More and Deeper: I love learning. Love love love. But I feel I am often too busy to build this into my life properly. Too lazy to really stick with things and too interested in too many things. One of my goals this year is to decide where I want to go deep. I don’t want to stay on the surface.
- Believe in Abundance: It’s very easy for me to fall into the scarcity mindset. It’s easy for me to feel small, scared, and worried. I don’t want to do this. Being stronger here means believing in abundance. Giving freely. Knowing there are many pies to go around. And knowing that was you give out comes back to you many-fold.
- Show Up: I should have put this one first. Because it’s the first rule of life, in my opinion. You must show up. Show up for your people. Show up at the gym. Show up for yourself. Show up at work. Show up at the school. Show up at a social event. Show up.
- Try Harder: My hope is that strong will show me what trying harder looks like. Can I give a little more? Am I really trying my hardest? Does my hardest change with time? Effort?
- Keep Going: The other big rule about getting stronger (and about life) is that we don’t give up. We show up. We try. We try harder. We rest. We keep going. We always keep going. Never, ever give up.
- Choose Joy: Because really, that’s the point of life. Joy. Abundant joy. I want to choose gratitude because it’s my path to joy.
- Sit with It: Being Emotionally strong means living the length and the width of your life. Feeling all the feelings. Not hiding, not burying, not ignoring. Sitting with it, letting it pass through me. The only way out is always through.
- Make Mistakes (and Learn from Them): If I am not making mistakes, I am not trying new things. If I am not trying new things, I am not growing. There are very (very) few mistakes that are unrecoverable in life. Being stronger means taking more chances. Taking more chances means making more mistakes. So I make mistakes and then take the time to learn from them. Like I mentioned above: I do, I reflect, I learn, I do better.
- Live your Values: Being strong means being who I am. Knowing who I am and honoring that. Each time I see one of my coaching clients struggle, it’s because their life is not aligned with their values. So here’s to living with my values of unconditional love, learning, peace, service, and gratitude.
So there we go. Here’s to a year of strength. Here’s to a stronger me in 2018!
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projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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