Each January I choose a word that I want to focus on throughout the coming year. I sit back for a few days and reflect on the past year and the coming year and all that I want to accomplish. Truth be told, instead of choosing a word, I let a word choose me. A few pop in my head and I let them linger, quietly tossing them about and seeing if they fit. Within a few days, many possibilities, though good ones, fall by the wayside, and one word lingers and molds itself into my mind and way of thinking. I took the holidays off from blogging and mentally prepped myself and my blog for 2016. One word was present through it all; it kept popping up everywhere around me and I knew that it was meant to be. Without a doubt I am embracing my word for 2016.
I have been blogging for two years. In those two years I have come so far and admittedly have far to go but I have enjoyed the journey. Each month I take the time to stop and reevaluate my progress and create goals for the coming months. I log into social media platforms and open my inbox and I am inundated with ways and methods and courses that I can enroll in and follow and I can get my blog to the next level. Results are often guaranteed. That’s hard to beat isn’t it? I have sat through webinars and have learned things. I have also sat through webinars and scratched my head asking myself if that truly is the secret to success. More often than not, the secret to success is common sense and hard work.
We are made to feel, though I will say not on purpose, that we are not enough. We may be good but we are not great. We have come so far but look how far we can go. We can make money. Lots of it! Look at any bloggers 6 figure monthly income report and it’s easy to want the financial freedom that our blogs have the potential to provide.
But we lose something in that race to success and financial freedom.
We lose sight of ourselves and our blogs. We think that we aren’t up to par or up to speed or that this hobby of ours just isn’t cutting it.
2016 will be the year that I stop allowing myself to feel that way.
I intend to savor the process, savor the journey, savor the time, savor my breaks, savor the community, savor the ups, savor the downs, and just savor life.
Does this mean that I won’t set goals for myself or this space? Not at all. Savor does not mean become stagnant. Savor means that I will relish and appreciate each step that I make. It means that I will enjoy each and every thing before moving on to the next step or goal. Instead of racing to the next item on my to do list I will enjoy the fact that I accomplished something. Life is not a means to an end and shouldn’t be lived as such.
Savor will apply to all areas of my life.
Our minds can be scary and powerful places. Our thoughts and actions have the ability to dictate our moods and therefore our days.
Perfect example….I recently lost weight using Weight Watchers. I am below the goal I set for myself, purposely so I could enjoy the holidays guilt free. Sure enough I indulged (not overly but ate those darn tempting desserts). I gained a pound and a few ounces (still below my goal weight). Nothing big right? The second that number flashed on the scale I was discouraged. I was upset. And then I stopped myself. Why could I not savor the fact that I had lost almost 20 pounds? Why could I not savor the experience that lingering over desserts with family and friends over the holidays was worth so much more than a measly pound? Why could I not savor the fact that I had proven to myself that I could lose weight if I put my mind to it? That I could make healthy choices for myself? That I could savor the time with loved ones?
And just like that, I took ownership of my thoughts and turned them around and let the disgust leave.
That’s my goal for 2016 to savor all aspects of my life.
I want to savor all that I have and work towards new things. I want to be able to savor the relationships that I have and make life a priority again.
How will I do that? By starting small. One day a month I am removing myself from social media. Think of the amount of time that we spend online; checking it throughout the day adds up quickly. I will savor the time with family and friends. I will use that time to read, relax, and be present.
I have always been one to say that I don’t have enough time to do things. This simple exercise will prove to me that I do in fact have that time and it will reiterate the fact that we make time for the things (and people!) that matter most.
So won’t you join me this year in savoring all that life has to offer? What’s your word for 2016? Leave it below so we can encourage each other this year!
