{Create}

My Word for 2010 is CREATE.


I've been thinking about which word I'd choose for the past several weeks.  I carried around a list of possible words and added to it regularly.  I've got a lot of goals I want to accomplish this year and I was trying to think of a word that would unite those goals.  But then I realized I was approaching it the wrong way.  Instead of picking a word that would help me accomplish my goals, I needed to choose a word that embodied my highest intention for the entire year.  Instead of thinking about the "doing" part of the goal, I needed to think about the "being" part of the character or persono I wanted to develop. 


One main contributing factor in choosing this word is the way I felt at the beginning of December .... just a few short weeks ago.  I was literally just crawling from one day to the next because my schedule was so packed and I was so exhausted.  Which was a direct result of not taking care of myself and making it a priority to incorporate the things I know I need in my life.  


My job is very left-brained, school is very left-brained, giving support to other WLS folks is also mainly left-brained.  But in reality, I'm a right-brained person.  I NEED to have some form of creative outlet or else I lose a part of who I am and find myself drained, grouchy and over-exhausted.  My goal is to arrive at the first few weeks in December 2010 and realize that my soul is nourished and the stress and chaos is not draining all my energy .... that the act of adding creating to my life gives me a new viewpoint on my life and how I live it.


In the past few weeks I've make a conscious decision to so something creative on a regular basis.  My soul is refreshed and rejuvenated because of it.  It makes me wonder how I'd feel in the midst of a very crazy busy time in my life if I continued to make a conscious effort to be creative in some way even when life is whirling around me.  So a few days ago a scrapped my list of possible Word of the Year contenders and decided to focus on CREATE as my word.  The more I live with the word, the more I know it's the right word for me, right now, in this phase of my life.


I had considered committing to create every day for the next 365 days.  But that instantly felt too overwhelming - too much like an obligation.  So I'm not going to put that kind of pressure on myself.  Instead I'm just going to say that it'll be a priority in my life and I'll do it "often" or "regularly."


I'm actually somewhat surprised that I've chosen a word that is so far removed from weight loss surgery, away from my physical health, exercise or eating right.  But then I came to realize that those things are now part of my life in a permanent way... they are ingrained into my being and a part of who I am and what I am.  So now the time has come to focus on the rest of my life and discover what else I can add to my character. 


Ok... now the exciting part!


I want to document my experience with my Word of the Year.  And you're invited to be a part of it!  I have already started a new blog and have begun to document my creative ventures.  I'm so excited!  Please stop by and visit it:  


{Create}


Don't worry, I'm still going to be here too.  But now you'll see a different side of my personality - the creative side.  


What is your Word?  
Did you pick one?  
Or are you setting goals or resolutions for 2010?  
I'd love to hear from you!


~Pam