Dec 31, 2016 |
2017
New Year, New Words
By Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
I noticed a trend on social media some years ago. Instead of making expect-to-break-them resolutions, people were claiming colors, phrases or related words to define their goals when a new year came around.
I once Dared to be an Awesome Orange. Two years ago, I pared it down even more to choose one word. Boundaries was first. The next year was Better.
Sometimes it takes a while to discover your personal Word of the Year. Sometimes it comes to you as easy as breathing.
Whether you choose one word or three, or go all-out with a list of resolutions, here are some tips to consider:
- Set a Journey, Not a Goal: Specific goals, while great, aren’t always met in a timely manner, or at all. This can lead to a person feeling like a failure instead of a success. Rather, choose what will help you grow incrementally.
- Choose to be a Diamond: You are more than a two-dimensional object. Make your mantra reflect all your beautiful facets.
- Everything Old is New Again: Don’t be intimidated by the “new” in New Year. It’s okay to enhance what you already know.
- Can You Relate?: Is your theme shareable? Keep yourself accountable by letting your followers in on your journey.
- Give Yourself Permission: It’s okay to tell yourself, “It’s okay.” It’s okay to dream, set goals, fail, try again, change, move, and be still.
- Shine Like The Star That You Are: Whatever you choose, don’t bury it in the sand or under your pillow. Reach your world with your bright light.
- It’s ALL About YOU: Your resolution/word/mantra should encompass the essence of you and what you want to accomplish in the next twelve months. Adding others to the mix can be a great idea, as long as there aren’t too many cooks in your kitchen.
How does any of this apply to social media and writing? The simple answer: It doesn’t. The complex answer: Everything’s writing. Everything’s social. Your theme should amplify your personality, goals, work ethic, belief system . . . Anything and everything you need it to amplify and grow.
Now, choose your word for the New Year, and hit the ground running.
I’m choosing to be Fierce in 2017. What will you be?
With some sweet tea and running shoes,
~Molly Jo
CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, My Dear: New Year, New Words. Choose yours & hit the ground running!
Sweet Tea and Running Shoes
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Jan 1, 2015 |
A few months ago, I knew what I needed my word for 2015 to be.
The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize how perfect it is for my world.
HOPE is the thing with feathers . . .
I created this graphic from a photo of the peacock Dot painted for me. She finished it over a month ago but I asked her to give it to me for Christmas. The peacock is my symbol for 2015. It’s the colors of Mardi Gras. It’s the King of birds. It’s full of dignity, power, and of course, hope.
Next week’s Five Things Friday post will be full of more hope.
Today, I’m waking up and starting with a deep, cleansing breath.
Hope is an intangible that makes things tangible. It’s the elusive thing that makes all other things possible.
Even in my worst moments, I am okay, because I fundamentally have hope in the very core of my being, telling me that things will get better. When life crashes down, when the world crumbles and shakes into oblivion, Hope is one of the three things that remains.
Hope is what keeps us going, whether we feel like it or not.
Dot’s Peacock
For 2015, I hope to be a better writer. I hope to pay off more debt. I hope to attend writers conferences.
And I hope to be a better version of myself for the world around me.
What’s your word for 2015?
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
FIVE THINGS FRIDAY: Peacocks
Dare to be an Awesome Orange!
Following Fabian
2014: BETTER.
Five Years and a PartyFaith, HOPE, and Love: Part II
Dec 30, 2012 |
The TV subscription is cancelled. It’s not my favorite moment, and I’m looking forward to a few months down the road when I can afford to resubscribe. But since I’m having trouble paying even just my regular bills, I can’t see my way around paying for TV and not paying, say, the telephone bill or car insurance.
Instead, we spent yesterday watching DVDs that we haven’t seen for a while. Then I delighted myself with Season 1, Disc 1 of FLASHPOINT. Not just any DVD, either. This one is special. This one came straight from the producers in Toronto. I’m gonna miss this show!
We undecorated nearly all of the Christmas decorations. But I’ve an ear infection or terrible head cold or something, which made balancing (like, just standing up) a true circus act, and even my thinking cap wouldn’t stay on.
This morning I feel a little better. Just enough to have my wits about me and not have to ask my brain to turn down the ringing in my ear. It’s hard to hear myself think with all that raucous going on!
With just two days left in this awful year, today I plan to clean my kitchen, put away the rest of the holiday decor, plan an emergency budget for January, drink tea… and read.
So I guess I could keep writing here… but Pages are calling me.
I’m going to learn how to build a Better Blog. For your benefit, and mine. And I’m gonna share with you each step. So you can boost your Blog, too. It’s a win-win.
But first… I have some Dragons to meet.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jan 8, 2012 |
No sooner do I commit to Daring to Be an Awesome Orange, when the Fates decide to test my resolve.
I won’t go into great details, because it’s a horrifically long story, but the same day I choose my Three Words was the same day I ended up getting lost on the freeways of Southern California. Again. I will post that entire story some other time, but let’s just say that while I wanted to just pull over and call a cab, I didn’t have the money for a personal driver and then that darned word kept humming inside my head. Dare, it said. Dare to be daring. I dare you. And all I could think of was, this is pretty much the first adventure of the New Year. How would it look if I failed?
So I quickly got my bearings, turned around, and made it to my destination. The beauty of where I live is I could end up at the Beach, in the Mountains, or in East L.A., and still be just over an hour from home. Once I got on the right freeway, I took a deep breath, turned up the Frank Sinatra, and sang my way home. It was Awesome.
24 hours later, I got a call from Julie (for those of you new to my blog, Julie’s my best friend, my VIP, and next to my mom, she’s my Go-To Gal for relationships, parenting advice, girl talk… and coffee!). She needs my help next week in a big way. While she was telling me this, I found myself holding my breath.
I’m not opposed to helping out my friends, fundamentally. But when it comes down to it, I’m afraid of trying to help some friends, because I’m also afraid of letting them down. What if I make mistakes? What if I don’t do it right? What if I screw things up? I don’t want that hanging over our friendship. I don’t want to be un-friended on facebook for that. I want to keep my friends. And add new ones to the list.
But if I don’t step out and help Julie, she’ll never know that I really treasure her. I can’t keep our friendship in a bubble. She means enough to me to do things that make me nervous. Because I know she’d do the same for me. And I again had that word humming in my head. Dare. Dare. Dare! So I dared to say Yes. Yes, I can help. Yes, I can do a good job. Yes, our friendship will withstand the little mistakes we make. Yes.
And yes listening, really listening, to Monique, whom you’ll hear about soon. We’ve rekindled our friendship and she’s going to be a plethora of information as she and her fiance’ delve into the world of writing, formatting, publishing, and marketing together. I’ll be on the sidelines, cheering them on. Because I know when it’s my turn they’ll be doing the same.
And I bet our Pom Poms will be orange.
Who could ask for anything more?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jan 7, 2012 |
I’ve seen a trend on blogs this year. Rather than people writing out a long list of unaccomplishable Resolutions, the notion is to pick three, just three, words that are what you want to make the next year about.
For instance, you might pick the word health. This would eliminate a handful of specific resolutions such as “I will exercise daily” and “I will eat better” and “I will lower my calorie intake” and “I will eat a salad every lunch”.
Or you might pick achievements. This would encompass all those resolutions about work, success, striving…
Even though I already wrote out my Resolutions list, having three main words sounded like a good idea.
The first word that came to mind was Dare. I was going for “be daring”, but that’s two words so I opted for just dare. For me, this means to not just step out of my comfort zone now and then. It means, even when I’m afraid to go ahead and do something. It means to be more adventurous, and there’s all kinds of ways to do that. Experiment with my recipes. Step out in faith when I can’t see the foundation. Do the things I’m nervous about doing. Try something new. Keep trying at something old until I get it. Don’t give up. Don’t falter. Keep trudging. Dare to be great. Dare to be wonderful. Dare to accomplish. Just dare to do it.
My second word is Orange. “What an odd word,” you say. Well, let me explain. First, my kitchen is orange. I love it. It’s a very bright, refreshing color. Orange has always been my favorite fruit and fragrance. It’s such a wonderful color, that California even has a City and County named after it! And in this wonderful Orange County is a miraculous little place called Disneyland, also extravagantly orange in its decorations. Oranges are full of vitamins and fragrant juice and taste wonderful. Oranges are the best. One of my favorite quotes comes from Frank Sinatra: “Orange is the happiest color.”
I had a hard time coming up with my third word. I wanted something like successful or accomplished but everyone’s definitions are different. And let’s face it, without having a day job how successfully accomplished can I be? It’s a great word to strive for, but I’m not so sure even I can call myself successful right now. I’m getting there, to be sure. But I still wanted a different word.
Enter Disneyland (again!). I have a favorite T-Shirt that I wear almost every time I go there. It’s a black princess T and has a big red name badge screened on front that says “HELLO… My Name Is AWESOME!” I love it. It’s fun to wear and yes, garners me some smiles as I walk by. I don’t wear it because I want that much attention. But it’s fun to hear others talk amongst themselves: “Did you see that T-Shirt?” “That’s so cool, I gotta get one!” It’s just a lot of fun.
Since we finished off winter break by another trip to The Happiest Place on Earth, I wore my “Awesome!” T-Shirt. And was impressed at the attention it gathered. More than the usual. I actually had people come up to me and start talking. It was, again, fun. I like talking to people. I like smiling and getting to know people. I like having fun. And that’s when it hit me: When I bought a juice and the cashier asked, “How many people have called you ‘Awesome’ today?” I said, “Not enough!” And I knew then and there that it had to be my third word. Awesome is exactly what I’m striving for in the year 2012.
Picking just three words to set for a yearly standard is no easy task. The fruits of your life will be different than mine. But whichever words you choose for 2012, be sure you Dare to be an Awesome Orange in life.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
