My Word For 2019 Is Believe

My friend Liz challenged her Facebook friends to come up with one word to focus on for the coming year. I immediately knew mine would be “believe”. The biggest thing that has held me back in achieving certain things has been myself. As the years ahead are fewer than those behind, I no longer want to continue that pattern. The word believe offers infinite possibilities.

My first lesson of 2019 came in the gym when I was able to take a class. Despite all the times I watched others wishing I could do the same, it had been possible all along. I just needed to believe. You can read more about this experience here.

I’ve never been a domestic diva, something that has become a joke over the years. I became accustomed to the fire alarm being tripped each time I turned on the stove at my last home. After taking a suggestion to try using a crockpot, my confidence soared. I even cooked a few things on the stove and in the oven without any alarms being tripped. Again, that one small word – believe – opened up a world of choices.

As my business travel picks up, my desire to eat healthy continues. I bought a seal-a-meal machine to freeze food so there will be healthy choices when I come off the road too tired to cook. Anything that comes with an instruction manual intimidates me. The machine sat in my car for several days before I even brought it in the house, and then it sat on my kitchen floor for a few days after that. I was sure the directions might as well have been written in Japanese. As I was unwrapping everything, I was trying to think of who I could ask to come over and explain everything to me. Suddenly, I remember my word, and it immediately changed my perspective. I believed I could handle this challenge. The short version is that the instructions were written so simply, I had no trouble following them. My leftover chili is in labeled and dated packages in my freezer. Once again that one small word is changing my life in multiple ways only 13 days into the new year.

I am challenging myself to use an organizing system that a good friend showed me today. It will take a lot of getting used to, but I think it will help me stay on task and stretch myself in ways I haven’t been able to. I just have to believe it’s possible.

This is my year of leaving the excuses behind and finding all the reasons to try anything and everything! I can’t wait to see where this new attitude takes me.

Photo courtesy of Marco Verch.