So lots of people choose a word solely for themselves each year to focus on. I first heard of this idea from Ali Edwards. Last year I picked the word PEACE which you can read about here if you'd like. Let me tell you, the first 3 months I really got a lot out of this choice. When things would start to get hairy, I'd just say the word "peace" over and over in my head and I would cool down, or mellow out, or relax much more quickly than normal. But unfortunately, somewhere along the way, PEACE go left by the wayside. I had all sorts of crafty ideas for that word. I was going to buy anything and everything I saw that had that word on it and plaster my house with it so it would be everywhere we turned, serving as a reminder to me. Never happened. I found one thing, that I was going to alter, but like all things that go into my scraproom, they get burried and don't resurface for years. So I soon found myself going through the days without so much as a thought about peace.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been pondering what my word would be for 2011. Two words in particular have been swirling around. "Imperfect" and "Calm".
Imperfect not because I want to become less perfect than I am, but because I want to accept that I am imperfect. Sometimes I feel too much of my time is spent trying to put forth an image of perfection. I am never successful in this endeavor, but the attempt is made. For example, I was up until 4AM on Christmas morning putting finishing touches on things (because a 2 1/2 yr old and a 5 yr old will notice all of it right?), typing up a cute letter to Santa (rather than scribbling it out), and finally cleaning up all the clutter so my Christmas morning pictures would look put together. Can you believe that? Am I the only one who cleans up so the evidence of her normal, everyday life is nowhere to be seen in the photos? I think I rationalize some of this by saying I don't want extra "noise" in my photos distracting from the subjects at hand, but I think really it's because I want to pretend I have it all together all of the time.
Calm for similar reasons as why I picked the word PEACE. But also because I find myself getting worked up or stressed out or panicky about things I have no control over or things I shouldn't care about. The other day at work I realized I needed to get some deposits made before our bank courier arrived. With the New Year holiday coming, this was the last day to do it and these deposits needed to be made in 2010. Naturally I realize this minutes before the courier was to arrive. Seriously, it would have been interesting to know what my blood pressure was at that moment. I can't explain the internal knots I was feeling inside my body. My hand was shaking as I was endorsing the checks, trying to write the deposit slips, make copies of it all, getting it in the bag, recording it in the register, and making sure the amounts were correct for the accountant. It was the worst 1o minutes of my day I tell ya. And in hindsight, I should have taken a deep breath, told myself to stay calm and gotten it done. If the courier came, I could have asked him to stay an extra minute while I finished. The stress could have been avoided. This is one example of many I encounter because I don't know how to stay calm. I worry too much about other people. Inconveniencing them. Bugging them. Total strangers. Who cares if you have to wait for my parking spot while I buckle my kids into their carseats?! Unfortunately I do and then the craze comes on. Well no more! Because CALM is my new word for 2011. I'm gonna take on an "It is what it is" attitude. I hope this will allow me to be more tolerant with my kids, get through life with less stress, enjoy the simple things more, and generally be a happier, more carefree person.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been pondering what my word would be for 2011. Two words in particular have been swirling around. "Imperfect" and "Calm".
Imperfect not because I want to become less perfect than I am, but because I want to accept that I am imperfect. Sometimes I feel too much of my time is spent trying to put forth an image of perfection. I am never successful in this endeavor, but the attempt is made. For example, I was up until 4AM on Christmas morning putting finishing touches on things (because a 2 1/2 yr old and a 5 yr old will notice all of it right?), typing up a cute letter to Santa (rather than scribbling it out), and finally cleaning up all the clutter so my Christmas morning pictures would look put together. Can you believe that? Am I the only one who cleans up so the evidence of her normal, everyday life is nowhere to be seen in the photos? I think I rationalize some of this by saying I don't want extra "noise" in my photos distracting from the subjects at hand, but I think really it's because I want to pretend I have it all together all of the time.
Calm for similar reasons as why I picked the word PEACE. But also because I find myself getting worked up or stressed out or panicky about things I have no control over or things I shouldn't care about. The other day at work I realized I needed to get some deposits made before our bank courier arrived. With the New Year holiday coming, this was the last day to do it and these deposits needed to be made in 2010. Naturally I realize this minutes before the courier was to arrive. Seriously, it would have been interesting to know what my blood pressure was at that moment. I can't explain the internal knots I was feeling inside my body. My hand was shaking as I was endorsing the checks, trying to write the deposit slips, make copies of it all, getting it in the bag, recording it in the register, and making sure the amounts were correct for the accountant. It was the worst 1o minutes of my day I tell ya. And in hindsight, I should have taken a deep breath, told myself to stay calm and gotten it done. If the courier came, I could have asked him to stay an extra minute while I finished. The stress could have been avoided. This is one example of many I encounter because I don't know how to stay calm. I worry too much about other people. Inconveniencing them. Bugging them. Total strangers. Who cares if you have to wait for my parking spot while I buckle my kids into their carseats?! Unfortunately I do and then the craze comes on. Well no more! Because CALM is my new word for 2011. I'm gonna take on an "It is what it is" attitude. I hope this will allow me to be more tolerant with my kids, get through life with less stress, enjoy the simple things more, and generally be a happier, more carefree person.
I think I need to purchase one of these soon:
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