Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Year in a Word

2014. Yikes. I remember when my high school graduation--1997--seemed eons away. And now... well, now it seems eons away also, but in the opposite direction.

I've never been huge on New Year's resolutions, but last year I decided that January 1 seemed like as good a time as any to make some changes. Instead of making a list of goals, though, I chose a word to focus on for the year. My word for 2013: Intentional. I picked 4 areas in my life that needed some attention, and decided to spend the year intentionally focusing on those themes. Did it work? Yes--when I actually stayed focused on them. Some areas saw more improvement than others. But overall, it was a success. The one-word focus simplified my thoughts and goals and even day-to-day decisions.

I hadn't really planned to do it again, but over the past few weeks, one word has been gnawing at me. I've been thinking about it, dreaming about it, talking about it... and I think I have found my focus for 2014.

Growth.

This year, I will be planning and acting and choosing with the word growth in mind. Specifically, I want to grow as a wife, as a mother, in ministry, and in my own personal spiritual life. I will make some more concrete goals in some of those areas to help me keep on track (I learned from last year that this is the key to my success!), but just having that word in mind, that singular focus, will help me to filter decisions and opportunities that come up.

So take a look at your goals for this year, whether formal or informal. Is there a theme? Could you sum up your aspirations with one overall topic? What word could you use this year?

Happy 2014!

1 comment:

Debbie said...

Thank you so much for sharing! I also have a word in mind for 2014 --it's similar to yours: Purpose... I want to be a person with purpose and when I say and do things I want to do them on purpose--not just because that's the urge that hits me or the "neutral (who cares either way) response"-type action or word... I find I do things on purpose sometimes while other times life just kind of happens. I of course must have a purpose when I go to the store or do laundry or serve in women's ministry at my church...but sometimes the actions and words that take place in the "inbetween" times are so drifty...or without much weight. I worry that I sometimes don't have a very clear purpose when training and disciplining my son, and I DO NOT want that...I want to be very purposeful as I interact with my son. I never mean to slack off in the parenting department, but exhaustion and the irritation-side of being a parent can cause me to cave. But, I am resolved to have less and less of those grey zones where I am not really functioning with purpose, and with God's help to be the very best Mom I can be. God bless you and your lovely family! :-)