What's in a Word?

Up to now, I have never chosen a “Word of the Year” for myself to strive to embody. I’ve seen all the posts, the encouraging blogs, the social media posts. All of it. But, unfortunately for me, I am a bit of a perfectionist. I’d spend ages trying to find the perfect word, getting overwhelmed with the plethora of choices, having goals and losing focus by not making a plan before finally giving up before the year and my journey have even started.

Not this year. This year, I sat down, searched Pinterest for all the word lists I could find while keeping my ultimate intention for 2022 at the forefront of my mind.

This year, I’ve chosen my word: COMMIT.

“Commit” because I’m tired of starting things and not sticking with them. Tired of starting over. Tired of not feeling my best the majority of the time – I’m not expecting miracles, here. I can’t feel amazing 100% of the time, but most of the time would be a step up and achievable.

SO – like the fabulous, wonderful, inspirational Rebel Wilson who committed to her Year of Health and is absolutely killing it, I am committing to myself this year.

I come from a military family – we moved every few years and some places were better than others. The thing I’ve learned is that I can do anything for a year, so I’m going to prove to myself that I can make myself a priority for a year. Just one year and then we’ll (READ: I’ll) see where that takes me.

What makes this year different? All of this could just be a bunch of pretty words and empty promises I make to myself to make it seem like I’m going to be productive, seem like I’m going to change my ways. Well, that’s where those occasionally tedious years in high school will come in handy.

The trick is going to be making a plan with SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. How many of these goals will I have? I don’t know, yet. I’m going to start with three top-priority goals and work from there: financial, physical and mental health.

My plan is to have each goal lay the foundation to build upon for further, more advanced goals. Not trying to get too crazy while I’m starting out, here. I’m attempting to build a sustainable lifestyle for myself, not sprint the first mile of a marathon, so it’s time to plan and commit.

I have more detailed plans written out for myself, but for accountability’s sake, here they are in a nutshell:

1. Financial – lower financial debt by paying off at least one of my student loans and save up enough money to take a trip somewhere new.

2. Physical – make my physical health my priority, rather than letting it fall to the wayside, because everything I am and do stems from my ability to keep up with this crazy thing called life.

3. Mental – prioritize myself this year – stop putting the needs of others before my own and work on my own personal growth.

Outside the nutshell, some of the steps in my goals overlap, which I think is ultimately better – I think it’ll be easier to build on my goals from there. Already this year, I feel optimistic and ready to conquer the year. Practicing self-care, doing things that I love and enjoying this life I’ve been given. It’s time for me to start working towards my best potential and give myself love and care, the same love and care that I give to everyone else. 2022 is going to be my best year, yet – for real, not joking, I promise!