BETTER! 2014: January 1: do. be. dream. feel. live. BETTER.

BETTER! 2014

Let’s be real: 2013 was a heart breaker, wasn’t it?

Everyone ~ and I mean everyone ~ has a story of hardship within the last 365 days. At the same time, everyone is looking forward to the New Year.

There’s always a sense of fresh. New. Hope. Promise. Something Good.

Am I right? As you’re reading this, aren’t you nodding and mentally going over your resolutions and new to-do’s? Don’t you feel like whatever happened in 2013, today begins the chance to change? A completely blank slate, to shape it however you want it to be.

Sitting around acting like the world is not going to help you, is not going to help you. Get up and do something.

Sitting Around

Yeah. Me, too.

The last two years I started the New Year with a theme. Two years ago I dared to be an awesome orange. Last year I set boundaries.

Today, I’m starting to be better.

Day Planner. January 1, 2014. Do. Be. Dream. Live. Feel. BETTER.

2014: BETTER.

I have a brain bucket full of resolutions and ideas and goals and insights and dreams and warnings and… you get the picture.

I wrote out began my list. Things I want to accomplish/achieve/acquire in 2014:

  • Get back to meal planning.
  • Read a heck of a lot more.
  • Do the Popover Project that I never did last year.
  • Finish the interior improvements at Bedford Manor.
  • Write. Write. Oh, and write.
  • More Mother-Daughter Dates with my daughter.
  • More Mother-Daughter Dates with my mother.
  • Reach out of my comfort zone more. To people. To locations. To experiences.
  • Create new recipes. And lots of them.
  • Spend more time in my kitchen creating, less time cleaning.
  • Redo the outdoor sprinkler system.
  • Buy a reciprocal saw.
  • Plant an olive tree.
  • Craft more.
  • Plant rose bushes.
  • Buy fence slats.
  • Buy many mason jars. In many sizes. For many reasons.
  • Visit the Midwest.
  • Get a passport.
  • Visit Canada.
  • Keep money in my savings account.

And so much more.

And as I looked at my incomplete list, I began to feel… overwhelmed.

This is the part where I channeled my mother’s mantra: “Simplify!” And, in case I didn’t hear her the first ten guzillion times: SIMPLIFY! (Stop yelling, Mom. I get it!)

My list is too long. It’s too exhausting. And honestly, too stressful. I can’t possibly achieve everything on that list.

And I’m not really sure I want to.

Sure, it looks good to put out there all these great goals. Oh, look at Molly’s Resolutions. This Girl’s got gumption! She’s a go-getter for sure! Okay. Quit laughing.

So this year, it’s not about New.

It’s about BETTER.

Taking what I already have, and working with it. Doing more, not different. Fixing, not forgetting. Stop adding to my plate and just enjoy what’s already there.

My goals for 2014 are the same no matter what day of the year it is: Be Better.

Do.
Be.
Dream.
Feel.
Live.

BETTER.

I’ll continue with the meal planning and the budgeting and the home improvements and the writing. Those are not new. If I gain a reciprocal saw and a passport, I’ll be happy. But if I don’t, the world doesn’t end.

I’ll make my life better because I’ll be better for the people in my life. I’ll surround myself with people who get it, who get me. Who encourage me and strengthen me and love me and support me. I’ll reach out more when I need them. And I’ll reach out to them when they’re not reaching out to me. I’ll make girl dates with Pam and Megan and Lisa and Nancy and let them know how they affect me and challenge me to be better.

I’ll let my family know I’m proud of them. For all they do. I’ll make the efforts to let them know I love them. No matter what. Just because they are who they are. And that’s good enough for me. They are always striving to be better, and I appreciate each and every one of them. All the time. And I’ll be better at telling them so.

Reading is something I do but not enough. Two years ago, I challenged myself to read a book every ten days. What was I thinking? In 2014, my goal is 12 books. Total. That’s right. Just one book each month. If I read more than that I’ll count it as a bonus. 12 books in one year is 10 more than I’ve read since last Christmas.

I’ll work on my current writing projects without starting new ones. I’ll finish NOLA and Amara’s Light and Broken Girl. I’ll record episodes of Five Minute Faith. I’ll do whatever I can to be the Writer I say I am.

I’m going to be a better version of myself and make my world a better place.

Not new. Not different.

But fresh. Hopeful. Good.

And definitely

BETTER.

Do Something. Because something is better than nothing.

Do Something

What’s your word for 2014?

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

You may also enjoy reading:
Following Fabian
You can’t see where you’re going if you’re always looking behind.
The Friday Five – STORIES
Amara’s Light: Book One of the Grenalia Chronicles
Doing Something. Good.

Remembering Fluffy
What I've Been Up To
Sweeten my tea and share: