Jan 1, 2014 |
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
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.
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
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.
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!
Dec 31, 2011 |
Seriously. What is it about New Year’s that makes people overthrow habit and desire to turn a 180 and make dramatic changes to their lives? I’ve tried, but that darned word, habit, really gets in the way. I’m not one for total makeovers anyway.
So I’ve discovered the trick to keeping New Year’s Resolutions is to make ones that I know I can achieve. I’m not saying, count to 10 each day when I know I can already count to 100. But I’m not throwing in things like open a bakery or take a trip to Italy… not yet, anyway.
Here’s what I’ve come up with so far, for the year 2012:
1. Read. Every day. The Bookshelf is a great new addition to my blog that will keep me on track with the books on my scheduled reading list, as well as more books I want.
2. Write. Every day. Stephen J. Cannell told me to. Often. And since he had a writing career longer than I’ve been alive, I’d say he knew what he was talking about.
3. Cook. Not just cook at home, but really really cook. Find new recipes and not be afraid to test them. Create new recipes and not be afraid to share them. Go out to eat at least once a month, find a great meal, and compliment the Chef. Get that cookbook published (any day now, so exciting)!
4. Schedule. Being “unemployed” only means I don’t get paid at a day job. It does not mean I have nothing to do all day. In fact, I’m finding more and more things that keep me legitimately busy (see Items 1, 2, and 3 above for starters). But sometimes I can get overwhelmed or, more typically, distracted. I recently got the Dayrunner page refills for my datebook. Today I’m going to plot out some What-and-When’s. Things like writing, a day trip to Disneyland, having family over for lunch.
5. Make time. Spend more quality time with my daughter. Not just be in the same room with her, but actually interact with her. Turn off the cell phones, play a game, learn those new recipes, even work together to clean the house. Together-time. Because her immediate presence leads to some great conversations that I miss out on when she’s in the other room or watching TV.
6. Exercise. Every day. Even if it’s just a short walk or a 15 minute workout on the Wii. Do what I can to stay active, and push myself a little each day. Park farther into parking lots and walk the distance. Carry more grocery bags. Get out of my chair more often. Stop being lazy or using my daughter as a go-fer. Just move!
7. Finish. Finish a few projects that really have needed my attention for several years. Finish the writing course through Institute of Children’s Literature. Rewrite a screenplay I started five years ago that really needs a rewrite before I embarrass myself by sharing it with others again. Finish the tiny To-Do’s around my house like finally paint that one-inch patch in the Narnia room. Set up a trellis for my Boston Ivy to happily climb.
8. Keep it clean. Clean every inch of my house and keep it clean. Dust when it needs dusting and don’t be afraid of the wetmop. Use bleach when necessary. Open windows even in winter (with five indoor cats, that’s somewhat of a necessity). Do more yard work. Plant more flowers and herbs. Cultivate growth.
9. Open doors. Enter more writing contests. Enter doors to new experiences and opportunities. Enter worlds of writing, of cooking, of family. Enter life without being timid.
Well, that seems to cover just about everything I can think of. At least for now.
What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
