2018: Word Of The Year

 

Welp, it is that time again. Time for a new year’s resolution. Up until last year, this time of the year looked something like this: Come up with some much needed resolution (like recommitting to a diet  or waking up earlier for a morning workout or having a nighttime routine full of journaling and face creams) | Be hung over on January 1 so actually start on January 2 | Fall off  the band wagon somewhere around January 7th | Be mad/disappointed with myself | Say screw it | Recommit to said resolution somewhere around March | Rinse and Repeat until December 31st.

Last year, I stumbled upon the idea of focusing your year around a word or phrase rather than a resolution. This idea was perfect for me. No lying to myself. No false promises. No disappointment. I ended up choosing the word ENOUGH which was fitting for me, at the time. I got a bracelet engraved with my word and wore it whenever I felt myself slipping away from my word. Even though we have said good-bye to 2017, I will still remind myself of ENOUGH through 2018 though it won’t be my soul focus.

This year my word is: BREATHE

When thinking about 2017 and what I wanted to “change” or fix in the coming year, I thought a lot about situations that happened this past year and what I could control and what I  could have done differently in those situations. Here are a few reasons why I think BREATHE is a good theme for my 2018 year:

• I am quick to react, specifically with QMonster. I am a yeller when I get frustrated. I have to work really hard to think then react. I want to BREATHE before I react.
• I am an over-thinker. I over analyze nearly every situation I find myself in. I work myself up for no good reason. I need to take a breath and think rationally more often.
• I instantly go to a negative thought. I really want to take a breath and find a positive thought in any situation I find myself in. Negative thoughts do nothing but bring me down. I am going to take a breath and find a positive thought.
• I constantly find myself overwhelmed and anxious. I am sure I am not alone in thinking my life is hectic. For whatever reason, I let the chaos get to me. More often then not, I find myself on the verge of tears because I don’t know how I am going to handle everything on my plate. I want to get in the habit of breathing and taking a minute to calm down before I allow myself to get overwhelmed and anxious by my to-do list.

So there it is. 2018 is going to be my year of breathing. I plan to take baby steps with this one…focusing on giving myself a mental breath when I get into one of the above mentioned situations. Later down the road, I may dig into mediation and breathing exercises…From a quick glance, I found several apps to help with guided breathing and such.

Now it is your turn…tell me what your focus for 2018  is? Are you going the traditional resolution route? If so, what is your resolution? Are you focusing your year on a word or phrase? If so, whats the word? Comment below and let me know what your 2018 theme is!