It's Wednesday (barely, but it still is), and that means it's time for wishing. Today Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios asks, "What do you wish for in the New Year?"
My mind raced as I thought of the extensive list of goals I always start to mentally jot down as the clock ticks down to the New Year. Which one would I pick for this post?
Save more. Spend less.
Give more. Take less.
Practice contentment.
Clear the clutter.
Submit those picture book manuscripts. (Finally.)
Create (and stick to) a more regular blog posting schedule.
Pitch a minimum of one magazine article idea per week.
Reconnect with God.
Nag my husband less.
Listen to my body.
Watch less TV. Read more books.
Resist trying to do it all.
Develop SMART goals for Re.Told Journals.
Develop SMART goals for Stepping Stone Studio's creativity workshops.
Reinvent my career.
Live intentionally, not fearfully.
Grow out my hair. (My hair has never been longer than my shoulders.)
Live authentically.
Be quiet. Listen more.
Drink more water.
Get to bed earlier.
Stick to a clean eating lifestyle.
Sit down and write already!
Get in the best shape of my life...not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Soon, the list had me feeling more exhausted than excited. Didn't I tell myself this would be a year defined by doing less so in the end I could be more? So often I find myself jumping from one new idea to the next, feeding off the excitement of new possibility and potential, but losing steam when the nitty-gritty, day-to-day work and challenges come in to play. Instead of seeing obstacles and challenges as opportunities to strengthen my fear muscles, I shrink away, telling myself that it must be a bad idea. The doors aren't flinging open before me, and therefore it just isn't meant to be. Time to turn back. Again.
Or, perhaps those obstacles mean I am on the right path after all.
As screenwriter Frank Howard Clark once said, "If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. "
So what do I wish for in 2010? To take one step. Every day. To make room for and a conscious effort to take just a single step—even when it means stepping in, towards, over and around any obstacles in my path—just so long as that one step is moving me closer toward the life I was created to inhabit...fully.
3 comments:
One step at a time is what they say. As Sara Rae wishes for herself, so I wish for her also.
A very wise wish, I see you making great progress in your ambitions for 2011. As Sara Rae wishes for herself. so do I wish for her as well.
As Sara Rae wishes for herself, so I wish for her also.
What a powerful noticing, how the list was weighing you down instead of exciting you. That's always a good sign to make a shift. May 2011 be full of wonderful next steps :)
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