I have a
love/ hate relationship with resolutions. I love making them, hate the fact
that I don’t seem to keep them. I’m
looking at you, #nerdlution.
A few years
ago, I think around 2011; I stumbled across the idea of picking a word for a
resolution. One little word. I remember reading the blogger’s post about the
word she picked. How it had just “came to her” and she knew it was supposed to
be her word for that year. I clearly remember thinking she was crazy, how would
a word just come to you? But I still liked the idea. I scanned the list, picked
a word that worked for me for that year, and thought about it as the year
passed. Resolution kept.
In 2012 and
2013 I had the same word – be. (My
post from last year is HERE.) I picked it to remind myself just to be me. My
thirties have been an awesome decade – I only have two months left in them –
but they’ve also been marked by anxiety. It is crippling at times, but I’ve
learned to cope. As silly as it sounds, the word be helps. It has been a good word.
A week or
so ago I was kicking myself for falling off the #nerdlution bandwagon.
Exercising daily, writing daily, it was just a mess. My husband chided me,
pointing out that in much of my life I’m either all in, or all out. One word
flashed in my brain – balance. I knew
I needed more of it in my life.
I sat at my
journal, absentmindedly doodling. I realized that I was looking at what balance
was for me – taking care of my mind, body, spirit daily. That doesn’t mean I
have to run for thirty minutes a day. Taking care of my body might be focusing
on water instead of pop one day. Getting in some type of workout in. Eating
more fruits and vegetables. Looking at my mind, I need to carve out time for
what sustains me – reading and writing. I need to declutter so my mind isn’t
stressed by piles and messes around our house. But also, I need to focus on my
spirit. This can be prayer, meditation, or even time with my family.
My life is
a bit out of balance. I’m online a lot. Some of that can’t be helped, some can.
I need to regain the balance, and I’m hoping my word will serve as a reminder
for me this year. My plan is just to put balance in the forefront of my mind and
give myself a score each day – one point for each area that I did something
positive in that day with a three being a perfect score. Simple, but that is
what I need.
As for the
classroom, I will be sharing this with my students and encouraging them to
think of their own words if they feel moved to do so. I don’t think this would
be beneficial activity to require of them, but something they need to own, if they would
so choose. Reflection is good. It is through it that we grow. I’m already looking
forward to 2014; I think it will be an excellent year.
