This year (and decade) is officially over, and I’m doing a lot of reflecting. Not just this year, or the past decade, but on all of my life. Normally I write up a questionnaire and ask trusted friends and coworkers to anonymously fill it out so I can take a look at what they see and compare it to what I think I’m doing, saying, and portraying in my life. I call it a Blind Spot Check.
This year I’m straying from tradition. I was looking over the data from the past few years, and I realized I have the information I need to set some new goals, to pick my word of the year, and to set my intention for my life and the Blog. I like when I’m ahead of myself 🙂
The conference I attended a few weeks ago really hit some cords that resonated with me, and my Blind Spot Check data backed it up. Here are a few of my big epiphanies:
- “Any how is possible as long as there is a why” ~ Viktor Frankl. I don’t have a good why. My kids don’t have a good why. We need to figure out what it is we are working for, and then we need better goals as a family and as individuals. The kids need vision boards up. I need to teach them how to use it effectively (and use mine so I’m teaching by example).
- ” The more stuff you own, the more it owns you” ~ Fight Club. We aren’t taking care of what we have been blessed with. I need to be better at letting things go so we have the space in our home for what really matters — the people, the good emotions, the influence of the Holy Spirit. We need to honestly minimize the external so we can work on the internal.
- “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn. Ignoring the emotions we are feeling, stuffing them, being afraid to talk about them has gotten us into a bind. 4 of the 5 kids need to be in therapy to work though life in a neutral environment (3/4 are there already). I need to be better at supporting them emotionally. We are going to learn together how to ride the waves and be more transparent with each other.
- “When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending” ~ Brene Brown. I have been complacent for far too long — accepting that this is the way my life was meant to be so I will make the best of it. Last year my word was “Intentional” and I really struggled with it. I’ve learned that I’m not good with boundaries, I don’t have a clear direction, and I am not passing those things on to my kids. They are feeling as directionless as I am, as stuck as I have been, and have been questioning life like I have done. I’m a writer, and it is time to start writing my story! It is time to start helping my kids write their stories!
My word for 2020 is
Peace
What word are you going to use to direct this next year? What do you do to pick it? How can I help you reach you goals this year?
