2015: My 4 Words (Not Resolutions)

Hello world! Happy 2015!

I’ve just returned from an unbelievable vacation to a tiny island in the Philippines where I surfed, swam, partied, relaxed, and stuffed myself with mangos. It was the perfect way to bring in the new year.

 

Now that I’m back in front of a computer screen (cue the sobbing), I think it’s time to bring up that sticky issue of “resolutions”. Yes, I know it’s already 11 days into the new year, but when have I ever blogged on schedule before? If there’s one thing I’m consistent in, it’s inconsistency.

 

My blogging friend Kate over at kategoesglobal.com is always filled with wonderful ideas and she has inspired me to follow her unique new years resolution idea. We all know I’m terrible at resolutions, challenges, and general personal goal-setting. It’s like there’s a little leprechaun who makes it his personal mission to derail any of my attempts to accomplish anything. That, or I’m just lazy.

 

So, this year, instead of planning on any of that weight loss nonsense, I’m going to choose some words that I want to embody my year. Words that I will use to remind myself of how I want to better myself and what I want to accomplish in 2015. Kate chose three words, and that’s probably a logical number, but I’m a terrible decision maker and couldn’t narrow it down, so I’ve chosen four.

Focus

I’ll be 29 this year; suffice it to say I’m not getting any younger. The last two years in Korea have been spent working toward the goal of saving money and planning for my round the world trip. Now that it’s nearly here, I need to focus on what’s next. My trip, although it’s going to be one hell of a good time, is not merely just for fun. It is an opportunity to explore my options, to learn new skills, and to decide which path to pursue my career from here. It will be easy to forget this, though, and simply live in the moment, so I’ll need to remind myself to focus sometimes on seeking new opportunities and ideas.

 Forgive

In my upcoming travels, there will inevitably be people who try to scam and wrong me. I must not take it personally or let it get me down; I want to simply forgive them and move on. There are also people in my life who recently and long ago have hurt me, and I am constantly grappling with the concept of forgiveness toward them. I often ask myself, “What is forgiveness, and how do I reach it?” I don’t have the answers yet, but I’m going to continue to try.

 

Open

While I like to think of myself as a generally open-minded person, I realize that sometimes I can have a narrow field of vision. If something does not immediately fit my expectations or standards, I close myself off to it. I want to try to be more open to new ideas, new people, and new opportunities.

 

 Believe

My biggest downfall is a lack of confidence and belief in myself. I tend to think that I don’t deserve the awards I receive or that I’m not worth people’s time. I know that this is what has held me back most in life and kept me from taking necessary risks, so this year I want to work on believing in myself more. I want to put myself out there, take risks, and fail if necessary, but believe that it’s worth it and that I deserve success.

There you have it! My new mantra for 2015 will be “Focus, Forgive, Open, Believe”. Kind of a mouthful I know… What words would you pick?