Sunday, January 4, 2015

Far (Not Fast) in 2015


A few years ago, when we collectively decided that resolutions - not goals, which are totally different and worthy, but resolutions - were for the unimaginative, bloggers everywhere started choosing a single word to guide them through the year.

Of course, I followed suit. In 2013, my word was “metamorphosis.” In 2014, I chose “amicable.” The thing is, though, as I explained in a comment on a recent post by Kristen in which she expressed dismay at the prospect of being tethered to a single word for an entire year, picking one word doesn't have to preclude abiding by any others.  I saw my word as more of an anchor in an ever-expanding brainstorming cloud than an arrow going straight from point A (January 1) to point B (December 31). For 2014, here’s what that looked like:
I used the entire cloud to guide me through the past challenging year and, as the year wore on, I came to realize the extent to which it was intrinsically about helping me be better with and for and to others rather than about reminding me to be better in and of myself.  All those guiding ideas in the cloud went towards making me a more productive and agreeable part of the communities to which I belong.

That's not something anyone should ever stop working on, I don't think, and I know I've got so much room for improvement.  So I'm going to stick with this cloud in 2015.  After all, I don't want to go fast this year - I want to go far.

11 comments:

  1. This reminds me of Danielle LaPorte and her 'core desired feelings' approach to making goals. You figure out the ways you most want to feel, and then you can make decisions based on those feelings. Will doing this thing make me feel more or less? I think it's the same idea with choosing a word to guide your year. It's not about restricting yourself to a tiny little box, it's about helping you make decisions that are more aligned with your values/desired feelings.

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  2. I love your word cloud! I think it's a great inspiration to improve yourself and your relationships.

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  3. That is a marvellous idea to create this word cloud. I like the idea of not going fast, but far too.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your word cloud. I'm a visual learner...and this really made sense to me. I love that you chose the work amicable. I haven't committed to my word this year (yet), but I'm thinking about it. My "thing" that I've been working on for the past two years is to focus staying focused on what I'm supposed to be doing and don't be distracted by others drama. Plus, I have really improved my self-control in NOT creating drama. (Turns out sometimes the culprit was me. )

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  5. I dig it! I think having concepts to anchor us throughout our lives is wonderful and important. Your word cloud is excellent and has reminded me that I should expand my own conceptions of resolutions etc. Well played!

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  6. ooh, I hadn't heard of this before - I like it!

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  7. it was really organic - I feel like that's the best since you're so rarely the same throughout an entire year!

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  8. oh man, I am 100% guilty of being the culprit in my own frustrations! excellent goal :)

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  9. expand your miiiiiiiind :) haha! but really, I hope it helps you too!

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  10. I like this! And I especially like seeing your word cloud and somewhat walking through your thinking. Thanks for sharing this. Makes me want to go back to choosing a word/word cloud.

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