Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Why Pick a Word?
Do you pick a word or phrase as a theme for the year? I don’t remember how long ago I started picking a theme word, but it might coincide with when I started using the Rituals for Living Dreambook and Planner. I love this planner so much. I really feel like it helps me stay focused on what is important and helps me make plans to achieve some things that might just fall under “that would be nice” or “someday” if I didn’t have a system for dreaming and planning. My theme word for 2019 was Adventure. You can read my adventure plans here or read how the year turned out here. Now it’s time to pick a word for 2020, and much like last year, there is a word that keeps jumping out at me. For 2020, my word is FREEDOM. Yes, in part this is because my divorce will be finalizing ASAP, but there is so much more to it. Here are some of my plans for the year and how they fit into Freedom. I have divided them into the same headings that the planner uses for my own convenience.
Goals, Dreams, and Other Plans
Career/Livelihood/Influence
Re-start and finish the 12-week book The Calling in an effort to discover my “life’s work.” I started this before the whole “my life falling apart thing” and the new year seems like a good time to give it a fresh start. I created a Facebook group and invited some friends to join me, so I am hoping this helps me stay on track and get through the book in 12 weeks. I don’t have to do it perfectly, I just need to get it done and see what I learn about myself in the process. By week four, I am supposed to be free of that old burden of not knowing what my calling is. I am not saying I will be changing jobs or anything, but I am looking to align myself with a purpose and maybe come up with some grand scheme. We shall see.
So far as my current career and livelihood go, it’s almost hysterical to say that this has been the most “stable” part of my life over the past four months, because I have a new primary contact at my customer and… yeah… everything has changed. I am sitting in the same office, looking out the same window, drawing the same paycheck…. that is the definition of stability in my life right now. I have a personal goal to “be ready” to think about my next career move by the end of April. I don’t have to apply for a job by then or anything, but right now I’ve taken that option off the table until then. Freedom.
My Facebook group is sort of an experiment in Influence. Let’s see how that goes.
Relationships and Family
The primary relationship I am focused on this year is the most primary of all. I will be focused on my relationship with myself. I know that my primary love language is Acts of Service, so I am going to practice that on myself. I already started this with a reframe of some of the things I already do. Driving myself to tap class or Pure Barre is now an act of service. Prepping my breakfast for the whole week is a service. It also means taking people up on their offers of “anything I can do to help.” That sends a message to myself that I am worthy of and willing to accept love. It feels so good!
I also need to rack up lots more QT with my baby before the Squid starts back to college in the fall. Lots of dancing and Barre with kid #1, and probably some movies, concerts, or road trips thrown in there. Apparently, I need to pet Torgo incessantly so he stops biting me. Over the holidays I thought I had petted him enough, but he is either high maintenance or he’s still a kitten, or both. Ash and Cap could use more attention too, but they all get treats now, so they think I am the bees knees.
Community
Aside from getting centered around myself, I would like to spend more time with my BFFs. I have bragged and bragged about the wonderful support I get from lots of people in my life. My goal for 2020 is to do a good job of maintaining those relationships. I know I won’t get this 100%, but I want to feel as good about my friendships at the end of the year as I do at the beginning. It’s time to pay forward some of that support.
Physical Wellbeing
My goal for the year is to attend 120 Pure Barre classes, this would be an average of 10 per month, but I think the new studio closest to me might not open until February, so I might have some catchup to play. I have been to 2 classes so far in 2020, so I need to pick up the pace some. This class is really going to help me have more endurance for tap class. It’s good to have a low-impact activity for balance. I will have my second tap recital this spring.
Of course, I am continuing my Bright Line Eating journey. I am continuing to build community around this too. BLE impacts every area of my life, but it does all boil down to the freedom I get when I let go of sugar and flour and focus on fueling my body with whole, real foods. It is really more about my brain than my body, but my brain is sitting inside my body right now. Gross, right?
Create/Explore/Play
Play is another word that comes up a lot for me recently. It has already been front and center in The Calling, and I have barely started. When people propose thinking back to what you loved to do when you were seven years old as a way of finding your life’s work, the first thing that always comes to mind that was my favorite thing to do is swing. Just hanging out in the back yard with my friends and cousins and swinging. At the park, I always give the little kids priority, but if I can catch an empty swing, my day has been made. Sometimes I really am that easy to please.
What can I create? I have been meaning to crochet more or do more needle felting. I hope to write more blogs this year. I am ticking up my reading goal by one book to keep it in line with my age. I hope to keep pace with my accomplishment last year of reading at least 50% books by women.
Alas, this is the area with the most untapped potential. Let’s see how the year progresses.
Psychological and Spiritual Health
I am a huge proponent of mental healthcare. Everyone should have a therapist. I have seen my therapist and my doctor regularly since the “reasons to get a divorce” stuff came up. I saw my therapist sometimes before that, but most of that was centered around ways I could help my kiddo with the severest anxiety. Despite those “reasons,” and despite everything I have been through (and survived) before, this divorce has really been hard on me. It’s hard to even admit that. It shouldn’t be a shameful thing to say, “someone hurt me and I am hurting because of it.” Nevertheless, the pressure these days to appear that you can “keep it all together” is very real. I can’t do that anymore. I’m not unhappy, but I am going through something right now, and I reserve the right to be “not okay” until I get to the other side of it. I even plan to give myself some time after I get to the other side. That’s the best thing I can do for my psychological health today.
In this post I talked about the fact that I no longer identify as a Christian. Does that mean I don’t have spiritual health? Of course it doesn’t mean that. I get many of my spiritual needs met through time with other women. Sister Circles are powerful settings. I believe in the divine feminine and that women are on the rise in an effort to achieve BALANCE, equanimity, peace. One of these wise women suggested working with an archetype for the year. The queen of heaven, Inanna, had been popping up for me, so I knew she would be my partner for the year. I am going to read about her and just sort of hang out with her and see where she leads me. I also plan to delve into Buddhism some more. Y’know, in my spare time.
Freedom
I could have had a smoother start to 2020, but there wasn’t a magic switch to pull at midnight on New Year’s Eve that would sweep away all of the old and usher in the new. Things from last year still have to be dealt with, and I am doing it. At any given moment, I am doing my best. I feel good about that. I have a lot of plans in place, but I also plan to take some time and rest and take care of myself. I can’t conquer the whole year in January, and I don’t need to. I can do it one day at a time. I will wake up each day and decide what “freedom” means to me today. For better or for worse, this year is a turning point for me. I get to write the next chapter of my life, and the title is FREEDOM.
Leave a comment to let me know if you chose a word for theme for 2020!
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