Oh, 2017… you were a tough one. You challenged me. You chewed me up and spit me out in many ways. Needless to say, I was VERY happy to flip the calendar and get this new year started.
During the last few weeks of 2017, I started to think about my word for 2018. Eager for a reboot, I wanted to find exactly the right word for the year, the word I needed to focus on to beckon the best year ever.
Truth be told, I chose a main word as well as a sub-word – – I’m pretty sure “sub-word” is a not a word, but let’s just go with it. I’m pretty serious about 2018 being the polar opposite to 2017. If it takes two words to make that happen, it takes two words.
Why did I choose renew? When I was looking at what I wanted to achieve for the year, it wasn’t rocket science. It wasn’t innovative. It wasn’t even anything I hadn’t done before. I want to get back on track with my life and I wanted to do all the things I’ve been begging myself to do for a year.
So… when RENEW popped into my head, I looked it up to see what its true definition was, and here’s what I found:
Resume an activity – YES. Re-establish a relationship – YES. Repeat – YES, YES! It was perfect for me and what I wanted to achieve.
Renew my Commitment to Healthy Eating
Let’s start with the first definition: To resume (an activity) after an interruption. It’s really time to stop the insanity. That sounds like a 90’s infomercial, but it’s true.
Somewhere in the middle of last year, I decided that I could eat anything I wanted without penalty. I could drink endless glasses of rosé with friends with no consequences. Needless to say, this did not serve me well.
I feel better when I eat healthily. I am sharper and more effective in my job when I’m eating well. Keeping that commitment to myself and my body just makes me happier and more confident. I also started the year weighing 38 more pounds than I wanted to (up about 8 from 2016.)
Taking no prisoners, making no excuses, and 14 days into the new year, I’m completely back on track with eating well and super proud of my progress. More on this in another post.
Renew My Spirit
When we talk about renewing from the sense of re-establishing a relationship, I completely agree this needs to happen. The relationship I need to nurture the most: The one with myself.
I’m not going to lie, 2017 ended with a bang. More stress than I’d ever really want to have to endure, and I found myself in a puddle of worry with no positive practices to leverage.
In 2018, I’m renewing my relationship with yoga, with meditation, and with mantras. Getting my mind in check is important and it really sets the tone for the day.
I was talking to my friend Melanie yesterday and she mentioned that she wakes up every morning and says “Something crazy good is going to happen today.” One of my Instafriends mentioned she’s started a morning 60-second SMILE meditation before getting out of bed.
I love both of these and have been playing around with both. I’ll let you know what sticks with time, but know that I’m taking care of my spirit finally and couldn’t be more happy about it.
Renew My Commitment to my Inner Badass
I also feel like I got a little complacent in 2017. I stopped listening to that powerhouse of a voice inside my head that reminds me to go after all of my dreams. Starting on January 1, I’ve been listening to her again.
She’s still whispering in my head, because she’s lost her stride; however, I’m confident she’ll come back in no time. Watch out, world… she’s fierce.
Similarly, I recognize there is nothing more powerful than my intuition, and I haven’t been listening to it NEARLY enough. Like my inner badass, if you haven’t listen to your intuition, she silences herself as well. It’s (beyond) time to wake her up as well…
About that Second Word (the sub-word)
My sub-word is simple… and important. I’d also described it as my power word for the year.
The word is simply NEXT.
As I look toward re-committing to things that are important to me, I also think it’s important to release those things that do not serve me. Because it’s what I’ve done in the past doesn’t mean it’s what I need in the future. I’m keeping my eyes open, my options open, and ultimately, choosing what is best for 2018 me (and beyond.)
So… that’s it. My word is RENEW (with a side of NEXT.)
Have you chosen a word for 2018?
