We started 2019 in the best way possible, by going straight to our happy place, the beach. A place of solitude, in it’s purest most pristine form, and a bit secluded this time of year. After coming off the past few years, where New Years was a place of uncertainty and a prayer for life’s difficulties to subside, this year was different. 2018 overall, was good to us. It was a representation of LIFE, LOVE, and LAUGHTER (as cliche as it sounds) – something we’ve sought to have all at once for what felt like so long.
The kids and I decided on a new tradition, where we each skip a shell into the ocean that carries with it into the universe one wish of ours for the new year. The wish stays in our hearts until the next year, when we divulge our secrets and say how they came true. Because in our home, they always come true. It may not be how we saw it playing out, but God resides in our hearts and with Him our deepest desires are always met in His perfect timing. This year’s shell toss was the perfect slowest hour to start 2019 and exactly how I’m hoping to live the next 365. Which brings me to my one single word that I picked to guide me through the next 12 months:
INTENTIONAL
My word for this year is INTENTIONAL – something I want to carry with me in everything I do. Intentional with my health, intentional with my time, intentional in my relationships, intentional with my purchases, intentional with my work and intentional in my faith.
What do I mean by being intentional? My day doesn’t always go the way I want but I had learned long ago that getting my way isn’t necessarily the secret to loving my life. The secret is living intentionally. I want to practice living an intentional life so I can experience happiness, engagement, and excitement when I wake up to greet the day. Being intentional means you are purposeful in both your words and actions. I want to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling and above all, I want to make this year about making thoughtful choices in my life. With so much on my plate — being a mom to 3 + having a new baby under a year old, being a wife to my husband of almost 10 years (!), being a daughter and sister to a family that is over 1200 miles away, being a business owner to 3 expanding brands, being a public figure in my local community as well as online, being a partner to my sponsors, being an active and caring friend, being a homemaker (bill payer, house cleaner, grocery budgeter, interior decorator), the list goes on… — it’s easy for my days to spiral out of control and for the overwhelm to get the best of me. I can do a whole lot, without really being present. If I’m not intentional about my time, it’s likely that I lose it. Being intentional for me, is my attempt at keeping things under control, truly being in the moment, and for me to give my BEST self to those that matter.
I want to be intentional because I want to do more than just get by. Because I dream and aspire and because I care about something. I want to live. It’s easy to complain when life doesn’t go our way, it’s easy to live to work because there’s this idea that we have to have more – more money, more credibility, more authority and success. I’ve been there, I’ve done it, and I’m here to say that those things don’t make us happy. It’s so easy to feel stuck, but that’s not the life I want to live.
So, to keep me in check, I plan to hold myself accountable with a few best practices in place –
- Write my word at the top of each month in my planner
- Set up goals that keep my word in mind
- Create a reminder on my phone to periodically check-in and review my progress
I plan to do all the things. Things like, live in the moment, declutter, acknowledge my choices, and wait for it…. stop worrying what everyone else is doing. WOW.
So I want to know, do you do words or resolutions?
About a week ago I asked this question on my Instagram and it was fun to see the varying words people chose. If you don’t have a word, what’s one thing you want to accomplish this year?
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