
My word for 2018 was "Execute". Frankly, it took me a few days to come up with last year's word, and I didn't feel the same connection I'd had in years past. Last year was a hard one for me, and frankly, I'm grateful to send 2018 into the past, and move on. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to. I didn't follow through on as many things as I wanted to, and nothing seemed to land right.
Frankly, near the end of the year, I was ready to toss the whole author shebang in the trash and find something else to do with my life. But writing is one of the hardest addictions to kick, and the idea of publishing another book still has me drooling like Pavlov's dogs. So I'm still here.
What I did realize through my year of missed deadlines, and unreached goals, was that consistency and getting started are the hardest things for me. Once I sat myself in front of the computer, and once I let my fingers fly across the keyboard, it wasn't as bad as I worried it would be. I didn't always accomplish what my overly ambitious goals were, but I did get something done. The real sucky part was, I never saw it that way. I saw the bit I did as not enough. I saw the forward progress as too little to matter.
Minimizing my accomplishments was stupid, and it pushed me into a state of sadness that I'm still working my way out of.
But it's a new year, and it's a new opportunity. Which is why this year, I want to focus on forward progress, rather than arbitrary numbers or quantitative goals that I put in place to keep pace with other people.
This year, my word is....
START
In 2019 I want to start everything on my To Do list each day. I want to start every day in 2019 with the Miracle Morning. I want to start each day without the baggage from the past, or the pressures of the future.
I'm not saying I'm giving up on long and short term goals. And I'm not saying I don't have deadlines to meet, but what I am saying is that this year I'm going to put my focus on consistency. Because getting those 5k writing days are awesome, but then falling into a funk because I can't replicate it three days in a row and not writing for a week... Well, that will net me far fewer words than simply giving myself permission to show up and see what happens.
This is a year I want to give myself a fresh start without comparing my successes to what I've experienced in the past. I want to give myself permission to dunk a foot in the water and test the temperature. I want to have fun again.
I'm hoping I give myself a strong foundation with my Miracle Morning and more frequent blogs. My goal for this year is to either blog or write new words every day. So I'm not going to sit here and guarantee there will be new content on this page daily, but most likely it will be at least five out of seven days in a week.
I'm hoping to take some self-development and writing classes this year. I got it in my head that I wasn't good enough to learn from some of the excellent folks offering classes. But now I'm going to start and see what happens.
I couldn't be more excited and hopeful for the year ahead. I can't wait to START.
Do you pick a word for the year? What was your word? I'd love to hear about it in the comments, or tweet it to me @RoxyMews. I'm on twitter far more than other social media streams lately. Let's chat and get started on a fantastic 2019.
~Roxy