2017 Word of the Year

Once again I decided to choose a word of the year.   Last year’s word was “happy.”  Overall, I think I had a pretty happy year.   This year it took me a lot longer to finalize my word.  I debated between gratitude, prosperous or success before I finally chose “growth.” Merriam-Webster defines growth as:  a stage in the process of growing.  And that is what I plan to do this year.

There is a quote that really resonates with me, “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there” – unknown.   Although I may have been happy this past year, I was definitely way too comfortable.  I adjusted to life as a full-time stay-at-home-mom, while my husband worked on building his new business.  I think that the family has enjoyed the benefits of having me home.  However, my husband is situated with his job and the kids are half-way through the school year.  It’s now time for me.

This year I plan on focusing on my personal growth.  I am five months into my gym membership and still going to classes several times a week.  However, I’d like to work on building my arm strength so I can complete a couple of yoga poses that are currently challenging me.  Overall, I think my diet isn’t too bad.   I would like to incorporate more fruit and veggies into the rotation though and be better at having at least one meatless meal a week.

I’ve owned a DSLR camera for years now and still shoot in automatic mode (hides face behind hands).  Since I upgraded to the iPhone 6s last fall, I’ve almost exclusively been taking pictures with the camera on that. However, this year I am intent on learning to shoot in manual mode.

I love to read.  I would like to read at least one non-fiction book a month focused on personal growth.

This blog has always been a hobby of mine.  It’s a way for me to write about the things that I enjoy and use my brain.  While I’m not looking to make money from this blog, I would like to continue to grow my readership and social media following.

And finally, I have decided that this is the year that I go back to work.  I left the education field for good at the very beginning of 2016.  At that point, as I’ve mentioned, me being home was best for the family as my husband focused on growing his business.  Financially, it would be beneficial to the family if I brought home a salary.  But I’ve also been feeling restless being home.  I am really trying to be intentional about my employment though and looking for possible jobs that would be rewarding and fulfilling rather than just something to bring home a paycheck.

So, 2017 looks to be a great year.  Having a word of the year helps keep me focused and living with intention.  I hope that this year brings me lots of growth!

What is your word of the year?