Who Do You Want to BE?

"Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become."

James Clear, Atomic Habits

Happy New Year!

I love January. Really, I do!

My sister says it's because I live in the South, and I don't have to deal with frigid temperatures and snow.

No, that's not it. The real reason I love January is because it's a fresh start, a new year, full of possibility and hope! A time to reflect on the past year and examine what worked and didn't, what brought joy and what caused sorrow.

Maybe by the end of January, you have had enough of hearing about everyone's "word for the year" or New Year's resolutions but hang in there with me.

Yes, I pick a word for the year. Do you?

I have been practicing this tradition for the past five years. This year I picked the word MOVE. My husband and I are moving to two different homes, and I am moving my website, so it seemed only fitting.

I also enjoy choosing a verse for the year.This year, I decided on the following;

In God, we LIVE and MOVE and have our BEing. Acts 17:28

Now let me back up for a minute and tell you about an interview I heard in December on Brene Brown's Dear to Lead podcast with James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. He said a couple of things that struck me, and I tucked them away for the new year.

Instead of focusing on goals, focus on the systems you want to create.
When creating a system, ask yourself, "who do I want to be?"

I decided this year I would ditch the word goals and replace them with intentions. I don't know about you, but the word goals conjure up feelings of pressure and expectations for me.They seem rigid and inflexible. On the other hand, intentions seem to lend themselves to possibility. They can be fluid and open, ever-changing and expanding.

Next, I decided to list who I would like to BE in this new year, not what I want to DO! For example, I want to be a person who sleeps well, a person who meditates, a gracious host, etc.

Then I realized a connection between my word and verse for the year with this shift in thinking introduced by James Clear.

MOVE