I do not make resolutions anymore. Resolutions are generally about deprivation and being better than any single person can possibly be every single day, 365 days a year. I am a good person, some may say kind, helpful, thoughtful, and my teachers used drag out the old trope, “pleasure to have in class…” Don’t ask my husband about the bad-mood me. I don’t really show that to the world. It wouldn’t be fair to the world, they didn’t marry me! Anyway, back to resolutions. I am not a person who likes resolutions mainly because I lack the willpower to keep them for very long and I also do not like to fail at anything.
So instead of resolutions, I’ve decided to join the #oneword trend. Instead of that litany of resolutions you just make and then break, I’m breaking that cycle. “My One Word” is an experiment designed to move you beyond this inevitable cycle. The challenge is simple: lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD. Interestingly enough, just as I was coming to this decision, my Facebook newsfeed disgorged one of those silly quizzes whereby you input words or answer questions and it tells you your elf name, or your perfect place to live, or some other nonsense… this time it only asked my name. My first name. So I input “Audra.” And out came the word that should be my #oneword for 2016. CHANGE. Hm. To make or become different is the definition.
This could encompass so much. I have a lot of things I should change. I have a lot of things I need to change. Then there is the list of things I want to change. The bigger problem is where do I start? Is this the resolution problem all over again, just on a huge scale? So rather than be overwhelmed I decided to choose one thing from my professional life to change and one thing from my personal life to change. (To start with.) Then I promised myself to be on the lookout for other opportunities for change for the good.
So instead of resolutions, I’ve decided to join the #oneword trend. Instead of that litany of resolutions you just make and then break, I’m breaking that cycle. “My One Word” is an experiment designed to move you beyond this inevitable cycle. The challenge is simple: lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD. Interestingly enough, just as I was coming to this decision, my Facebook newsfeed disgorged one of those silly quizzes whereby you input words or answer questions and it tells you your elf name, or your perfect place to live, or some other nonsense… this time it only asked my name. My first name. So I input “Audra.” And out came the word that should be my #oneword for 2016. CHANGE. Hm. To make or become different is the definition.
This could encompass so much. I have a lot of things I should change. I have a lot of things I need to change. Then there is the list of things I want to change. The bigger problem is where do I start? Is this the resolution problem all over again, just on a huge scale? So rather than be overwhelmed I decided to choose one thing from my professional life to change and one thing from my personal life to change. (To start with.) Then I promised myself to be on the lookout for other opportunities for change for the good.
The change in my personal life is to "Konmari" my house and my life. The KonMari method, as Marie Kondo has coined her system, in her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, is simple: keep the belongings that “spark joy,” and get rid of those that don’t. That overpriced cocktail dress you always feel guilty for wearing once and never wearing again? Donate to Operation Prom. Those sad laundry-day sweats I bought in Italy with the holey knees and stretched-out waistband? Ciao. The system leaves precious little room for excuses: no maybe-I’ll-wear-it-somedays or but-I-got-it-as-a-gifts or I’ll-just-wear-it-to-beds. And while this may sound cold and unsentimental, Kondo’s earnest enthusiasm gets you into the headspace to look at the massive pile of clothing on your floor as an opportunity for self-reflection and change, rather than a trigger for an anxiety attack. This sounds like CHANGE in more than one way for me! (I may do it in my office at school too!)
My professional change is to earn my SDL administration certificate. I’m not certain if or when I will use it, but I am certain (as is my husband) that it couldn’t possibly hurt! I am a learner. If I’m not learning I feel a little adrift and untethered in a world of knowledge. I adore my PLN and Twitter, and I learn so much from it, but formal education for me is (and always has been) a panacea and a haven from any pain, from loss, from fear and a solace in sadness. Not that I'm experiencing any of those feelings at the moment, but school has also been an anchor in a sea of change. So maybe the CHANGE itself is the anchor inside the changes that I need to make. I need to return to my scholarly ways and put away my bad habits and laziness which will in turn allow for other positive changes in my life. Watch out 2016, here I come. What will you do in 2016? What will your #oneword be?
My professional change is to earn my SDL administration certificate. I’m not certain if or when I will use it, but I am certain (as is my husband) that it couldn’t possibly hurt! I am a learner. If I’m not learning I feel a little adrift and untethered in a world of knowledge. I adore my PLN and Twitter, and I learn so much from it, but formal education for me is (and always has been) a panacea and a haven from any pain, from loss, from fear and a solace in sadness. Not that I'm experiencing any of those feelings at the moment, but school has also been an anchor in a sea of change. So maybe the CHANGE itself is the anchor inside the changes that I need to make. I need to return to my scholarly ways and put away my bad habits and laziness which will in turn allow for other positive changes in my life. Watch out 2016, here I come. What will you do in 2016? What will your #oneword be?