My Word for 2019

For the last 3 years, I’ve abandoned New Year’s Resolutions and opted for a single word to guide my year instead.

This year, I really struggled to come up with the right word. There were lots of options that came to mind but they didn’t quite fit. It was driving me crazy that everyone else had their word but I didn’t. Sigh! I chose to be patient because I’d much rather wait and get the best word for me rather than focusing my year on something that wasn’t quite right. In fact, BEST was super close to being my word for this year. Each day I’d see, hear, or read a new word that would stand out and pause to ponder it, but it just didn’t strike me as right.

Eight days into the year, I wrote this post and my word jumped off the screen at me.

P A C E

Turns out I’ve had this word since October when I encouraged all of you to set your own pace, but I haven’t been practicing this myself. Not 100%. I was saying YES to a lot of things I shouldn’t, because they were stretching me too thin. I’m a doer. I WILL get the things done, but it usually comes at the cost of something else, like sleep or my family time. The word “balance” was another close contender but I just didn’t like the sound of it.

Now, PACE… I can get on board with that!

The problem with discovering this word mid-January is that it didn’t magically erase all of the things I committed myself to this month. I keep telling Mike, if we can JUST get to February, things will be fine. At the moment, I’m a bit in the weeds. The last 6 months have been way out of the ordinary and that’s part of why January has been a smidge insane. I’m back in Nashville now and playing catch up. Unfortunatey, everything seems to be hitting all at once.

I’ve always said that any day is a great day to start something new (even if it’s not January 1st) so I’ve already begun to look at February and beyond and map out my own pace. I’m excited to find my groove again and re-establish a routine. I have always enjoyed and appreciated the flexibility that comes with working from home but I also love predictability and being proactive rather than reactive.

It’s been about a week since I nailed down my word and I have used it as a guide in every single decision since and it feels really good. As soon as I typed the word PACE, I just KNEW it was my word! I made a lock screen graphic for my phone today so that my 2019 mantra “set your own pace” will be in front of me as a constant reminder.

So here’s to 2019 and setting the right pace for me and my family… just as soon as I survive January. LOL!

Do you have a word or a resolution for 2019?