Word of the Year

A more gentle approach to the dreaded resolutions.

I hate resolutions.

There. I said it.

I. Hate. Resolutions.

I feel weird saying that—or typing it as it is. It seems like everyone in the universe has resolutions. All of my friends, everyone on television, and all podcasts are talking about resolutions in one way or the other.

It truly feels like I’m the odd duck over here, not even trying to turn over a new leaf on January 1st. But why lie to myself? I’m not going to become a fitness guru suddenly. I’m still married to foul language. I’m going to yell at my kids when they get home from school because, despite me asking in my nice voice 15 million times over the last week to put their clothes away, they’re still on the floor. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m still going to procrastinate.

Why set myself up for failure?

But here’s the hiccup—I do want to do better. I want to grow and learn and evolve. I just want to do it … gently.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Gentleness. I don’t mean it in a frou-frou kind of way. When I say gentle, I don’t mean white lace and tea parties with little fingers turned to the sky. (If that’s your thing—awesome. I love that for you.) What I mean is more of a quiet thoughtfulness. A kinder approach to life. It’s a more methodical, realistic, saying no to things that don’t serve me and realizing that I don’t have to jump into every wave with both feet. It’s fine to test the waters, to dip my toe into pools and see if it’s right for me. If it is, I can splash on in. And, if it’s not, I can pull myself away, wrap up in a big floofy towel, and lay on the sand until the next pool comes along (with a book, of course!).

That’s why I chose to have a word of the year instead of a resolution.

I know I’m not quitting every bad habit of cold turkey. And there’s no way I’m going to reinvent myself just because the calendar turned over a new digit at the end. And, honestly, I wouldn’t want to. I enjoy drinking soda—I just shouldn’t drink so much of it. And I should move around more and get more exercise. It just doesn’t have to be sweaty, balls to the wall for 45 minutes a day. A nice walk on a pretty afternoon suffices, or doing a few stretches after a long day while I’m making dinner is fine, too.

The goal is to do better and grow and learn. To evolve. I’m not trying to outdo anyone. I just want to be a better version of me. Slowly. Realistically. Gently.

My word of the year, after much thought and deliberation, is glow.

That sums up what I want out of my life and this year. I want to glow. I want to be happy and glow from feeling peaceful and not rushed. I want to glow from the experiences I share with my friends and family. I want to glow from drinking more water (and the occasional soda). I want my cheeks to glow from the sunshine that I get from being outdoors more—which really is my happy place!

I want to glow from spending time with my family and my dogs. I want to glow from my conversations with God. I want you to be able to see the happiness on my face from writing books I love at a pace that works with my life and not against it.

I want you to be able to look at me and not necessarily see pounds lost from a crazy diet or hours in the gym—but a nice, gentle light from being kind to myself.

So, that’s what I’m chasing this year.

A glow. 🌟

What about you?

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Coming January 18th …

This is one arrangement they couldn’t pass up.