Last year Ms Maxabella Loves threw down the challenge to her readers to live their years by a single word (rather than making resolutions that fall by the wayside by January 3.)
In 2012 that word for me was “No”.
And while that might sound a little negative, if you are anything like me (people pleaser, compulsive helper, likes to be liked) then you will have some idea of how easy it is to say “Yes” all the time. And then find yourself hopelessly over-extended All. The. Time. Which is what I used to do.
In the end, while I was far from perfect in 2012, I did an astounding job of living by the mantra Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should and saying “no” much more often than I said “yes”. And when I did say yes to stuff I shouldn’t have and found myself a little over-extended, instead of telling myself too sad, too bad Kelly, you’re committed now, I did the previously unthinkable. I pulled back.
And you know what? 2012 ended up being a truly magic year for me. The culmination of this magic year was finding myself exactly where I wanted to be for the first time ever in 35 years. Nothing more to strive for, no new summit to climb.
Of course, I had no idea how to cope with this situation and completely freaked out.
It was at this point that my lovely readers came to the rescue.
Karen said: It’s hard to sail when there’s no wind. Maybe you just need to wait for the right moment to know which direction you’ll head?
Rose said: You’re not “directionless”… maintaining current focus is big work
Both these girls made me realise that I just need to sit and float for a while. Focus on my current projects instead of fretting that I don’t have the next thing lined up.
Contrary to what I think, I have not come up against some kind of barrier; one that must be knocked down so I can see what the next big thing is. The ‘next thing’ will come along in its own time and fill my sails – but there is no rush.
So there’s my word for 2013.
Float.