My Word for 2019
I am not a person who likes to be pinned down. I generally don’t like doing something unless it makes sense to me. I can stick to a schedule, but I push against it the whole time. (In my head; rarely out loud.) I’ll get done what has to be done during the day or a specified time period, but I’ll do it on my own time and in my own way. In Gretchen Ruben’s The Four Tendencies, that means I’m a rebel with questioning tendencies or a questioner with rebel tendencies.
The fact that I’m choosing a word is slightly surprising and yet the idea appeals to me this year. I like the idea of choosing a word that wraps itself around my goals. Choosing just one word, however, was challenging.
For the past week, I’ve been auditioning words; trying them on for size. Optimism was one. (You may have seen my Instagram post.) It’s a great word, but didn’t feel like enough of an action word for my sense of moving forward. Grow was another, but it felt too literal and counterintuitive to my health goals. Connect was an obvious choice, but that’s something I strive to do every day. It’s not new and it’s such a part of my core values and core “who I am” that it doesn’t sit right with me to choose it for just one year.
Along comes “Flourish.” As defined by Merriam-Webster, flourish is “to thrive, to grow luxuriantly, to achieve success.” Another web result brought “to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.”
I tried it out overnight and we have a winner! It fits.
I want to flourish in 2019, both personally and professionally.It allows enough flexibility to have my existing goals for the year (I use the educational/farming calendar for my goal setting….but that’s another blog post) AND it works with the idea that I am responsible for creating my version of success. It fits for the hard AND soft goals I have for myself for this year. It allows for mindful personal growth, business expansion and artistic growth.
What’s your word for 2019 and how does it fit into your life?
