Each new year brings new beginnings and, for me, it brings a new life theme. I was inspired to share my approach to using themes as opposed to resolutions by two people dear to me who started out as PR colleagues, but over the years, have grown into friends that I respect, love and admire.
I stopped making resolutions several years ago because, like most of us, I didn’t keep them or stressed out so much over them (because I am results-driven – a side effect of professional life) that after the first month I felt like a failure. The problem was the resolutions were so metric-driven and so specific that they felt like a “to-do” list that I was checking off or that kept stacking up as I fell farther behind. You know, things like work out five times a week for 30 minutes in the morning or write down three things that I am grateful for each day.
Now, nothing is wrong with working out or being grateful for something each day. As a matter of fact, I practice both of these things, just not as part of a schedule or check list. Why? Bottom line – they felt like work!
So one year, I chose to just stop the madness, create balance and bring hope back to my life at the beginning of each year. I stepped back, identified what I felt was missing from my hectic whirlwind of a life, and made that an overarching area of focus for the next year by making it a theme. I would then use that theme as a gauge for my actions, intentions and time spent for the coming year. In other words, when making simple decisions or major life decisions, I would pause and ask – does this action and the time spent benefit me by falling within my theme? If it did, great! If it didn’t, I learned to say no, not feel guilty and keep it moving!
Here are a few of my life themes from the past few years that inspired my friends Jennifer and Kristin to start doing something similar.
* Making an extraordinary difference one day at a time (my focus was to make a difference in the lives of others and the world around me)
* Invest, work and play in my passion (my energies were focused solely on the things I wanted to do and be)
* Spiritually living in the moment (was about me being present and in step with God)
* Soul care extraordinaire (was about taking caring of and Loving on Me)
My life theme this year comes on the heels of a very tough year where I experienced the death of a family member, job loss, bad relationships, lots of hormonal acne, tearful days and broken moments. And honestly, if I had not made soul care my theme for 2014, I likely would not have weathered the storm. Needless to say, I was ready to ring in a new year, start fresh and jump back into life.
This year I am choosing to – live a stand out life!
My life theme for 2015 was inspired by the book I was reading at the end of the year, “Identity” by Charlotte Gambill, which is about a journey in discovering who you truly are. I mentioned it in last month’s article where I talked about being free to be 100% you.
Reading “Identity” and reflecting on where I am in my life inspired me to want to spend this year living a stand out life. So, what does that mean exactly? For me, it means living life as the unique individual that I was created to be. For me, it means empowerment. I choose to live differently – to stand out.
“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day, to make you everybody else.” – E E Cummings
It means being unafraid to express myself, stand up for my beliefs and keep traveling my own unique journey with no regrets. It means staying true to the real me.
For you, it may mean something totally different. And the beauty in that is, that it’s okay.
Imagine what your life would be like if you chose to let go of making resolutions and choose a theme or even one word to define your life for a year. What would it be? How would your life be different? Who would you be?
Why not try it and find out? Share your theme with us in the comments section.We’d love to know!
Peace and extraordinary blessings in the new year!
Andrea
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