It’s almost the end of the first month of the new year. How are those New Year’s resolutions going? Did you forget or do you keep saying you’ll start on Monday? Maybe you’re going strong but you took on too many and now burnout is right around the corner? Or maybe you’re good and this is the best year yet! No matter where you are with your goals I have a spin on the New Year's resolutions that might be a little less stressful and is something you can accomplish this year. I mentioned it briefly in my last post, but I wanted to take the time to share it again. A word. Not just any word though. One that you take the time to think about, journal about, pray about, and then commit to. It's a word that will guide you throughout your year and something you can constantly come back to. You can think of it as a broad goal, or if a goal sounds intimidating, a path you want to follow or who you want to be. It is a way to help you grow. The best part about a word is that it can fit in every aspect of your life. For example, your word could be “energy” to remind yourself to cultivate energy for work and home. Or it could be “positivity” and could be remembered when you’re having a bad day or stuck behind an 18 wheeler on the highway. It can be any word that you feel you want to work towards in your life. Last year my word was balance. There were many days that I forgot about the word, I’ll admit, but there were more days that I remembered and because it is just a word, I never needed to feel guilty for not following through one day or one week out of the entire year. I chose balance because I felt I would go all in on something and wouldn’t take time for the other things that I truly wanted. I would focus all my time on school and not have any time to talk to my friends or do yoga. I wanted to find balance in everything. Now the crazy thing is - it worked. I found a lot of balance in my everyday life and now it is a core value that I have. I reflected at the beginning of this year what my core values and mission statement were and the word that came up most often was… balance. So this word didn’t just become something I strived to be, but a part of who I am. Now, that may sound a little extreme for a word for the year, right? I might sound crazy, but if you take this word and you think about it, put it in your schedule somehow, share about it with others, and live by it - it can become a part of you. You have to want it though, which is why taking some time to reflect is important and maybe even worth waiting a week before committing to it, so you are sure that this is what you want to work towards. (Yes, work towards - it isn’t just going to become a part of your life because you wrote it down.) This year my word is “moment”. I feel like I keep looking to the next thing (or keep peeking at how much time is left on yoga) and I want to be present. I don’t want to miss life and wish it away. I want to take in every moment and learn something from it. I find that being in the moment gives me more reasons to smile and that is something I want. My mom shared with me a quote that Ann Voskamp recently said saying that "no amount of regret will change the past, no amount of worrying will change the future. But any amount of being present and being grateful will change the present." Now that you’ve heard two of my words, maybe you want to have your own for 2022 (It is definitely not too late!) Remember to take some time and think about your word and make it something you want to incorporate in your life. If you’re feeling rushed all the time, maybe your word is be or calm. If you’re experiencing a lot of sadness or loss lately, maybe your word is appreciate, feel or peace. If you’re feeling tired a lot, maybe it’s energy or progress. If you want to work towards being healthier maybe your word is mindful, movement, or wellness. Your word can be anything (as long as it is for you). If you need some more ideas, just google words of the year and check out the images… there are SO many words! The last step is to write your word down. It doesn’t have to be boring either. I have friends that do this with their whole family and they get together and paint their words and then hang them up in the hallway to see every day. You could also write it with a sharpie on a sticky note and put it on your laptop if that's more your style. I personally buy a $10 bracelet with the word (I’m excited to have a collection some day). This way I’m constantly reminded. I also suggest talking about your word with people as a way of accountability and also because it's exciting to be working towards something new. If you’re comfortable, comment your word below and share it! You don’t have to describe it, just a simple word and then you hit the first step :) Feel free to come back anytime and comment how the word is going for you too! I’m excited to hear your stories. As always, don’t forget to smile and remember that you are amazing and you can do anything you set your mind to. I’m always here cheering you on!
* Thank you to Matt and Carrie Silver (experiencecc.org) for teaching me about the word of the year and helping me incorporate it into my life.
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Well the past 5 months have been some of the busiest and hardest months I have had in… maybe my life! I just finished the hardest semester I have had yet, but that was my last semester of undergrad. I am officially a college graduate with a bachelors in Data Science! Now, I am already on my journey to receive my MBA (Masters of Business Administration) with a focus in Strategic Leadership. College taught me a lot, but one of the biggest things it taught me is that I love to lead others and I hope to do that as part of a career. I am also very close to my dream/goal job - which is kinda crazy to wrap my head around! I am a Business Intelligence Analyst intern at a company I have been with since May and I love it! My boss and team are amazing and I get to do some pretty cool data stuff. I’m really excited for the next steps in life, but I intend to make sure to live more in the moment. I learned in my first graduate class that my top strengths (a personality type test) have changed since freshman year (how cool!) and that my new top strength is futuristic which means I tend to think and plan a lot into the future. Honestly, that shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me... I mean I have retirement planned out, doesn’t everyone? - I’m just kidding. I know people don’t really plan out retirement in college. I think that was just part of my strength. I want to live more in the moment and enjoy the journey though. Every year we think of a word to live by. It’s like creating goals, but more broad and easier to keep with you. This year my word is Moment. I’m really excited for this one as I run longer, do more yoga, and hope to bring back some more blogs! I want to be in those moments and not think about the next one - how often will I come back to this stage of life… never! On that note, for a specific blog update, I do have a plan for the blog in 2022.I love this blog so much and never want to put it aside, even if that means taking some more time to write because of all the other things I have to do. As of now, the plan is to post every other week with a podcast about every two months. This way I can keep sharing about happiness, but also still focus on my masters degree, full time job, and training for at least 2 hours a day! Sooo training leads me into the news that I will be officially running across the country *for real this time* starting in June. I am soo excited and can’t wait to share it with all of you here. I will still be accepting donations (I increased my goal to $15,000 and I am just under $3,000 away), but if you already donated, PLEASE don’t feel the need to donate again! I am so incredibly grateful for all you have done for me already, but I do hope for your support as I go and that you follow me along! My main source of donations this time around, I hope, will be from companies and from different fundraisers I am able to do. With that being said, if your company has a grant program for non-profits (you might not realize they do) please please check it out! Or, if your company has a matching program and will match your donations, as little as $10 can turn into $20 and help a lot. Maybe then you can even share it with your team and if there are 5 of you and you each donate $10, the Ulman foundation will receive $100! You would be surprised what companies offer, so if you are able to look into that, I would greatly appreciate it! I’m really excited with training officially starting. I will still be dedicating my runs so, If you have someone, please let me know! Also, if I dedicated a day to someone in 2020 and you would be interested in me dedicating a day for the actual run, please also let me know! If you’re wondering, Pieces of Happiness will not turn into a 4k blog this year like it did in 2020. I will continue to post about happiness and things following along that line. I may have an update every once in a while, but it will mostly be happiness. That is except for June 26th (ish) to August 13th (ish) - which is when I’ll actually be running across the country and sharing about that :) Last but not least, if you’re interested in sharing ways you find happiness and would like to be featured on the blog, please reach out! I love to hear ways people find happiness because it is different for everyone and we just need to find what works best for us. I am so excited for the new year! I’m ready for the “new year, new me.” I hope your new year has been going okay and you remember to smile! |
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