in one word, could you sum up your goal for 2015? what would it be? what overarching theme will you try to keep as a trending topic all year-long? i had mine even before i knew this was a thing. and by thing i mean picking a word for the year aka one little word, etc. and by thing i also mean a social media/ blog thing. it’s a thing. i first saw this on my new favorite social accounts to follow, Best Kept Self. (sidenote, these women are incredible and will both motivate, inspire and encourage you daily) each of the women of Best Kept Self tweeted their word of the year and asked followers what theirs would be. it took me no more than a second to know what mine would be. mindfulness.
mind·ful·ness // ˈmīn(d)f(ə)lnəs/ (noun)1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.2. a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
awareness, acknowledgement, acceptance… all of these things are things that i need to focus on. i’ve chatted briefly with you about my struggle with mental illness and how my anxiety and obsessive compulsive personality disorder often disrupt my day-to-day life. and the fight continues, and the journey towards overcoming it all has tons of bits and pieces to it. but, this, mindfulness. this is a key factor.
being present and living in the moment has become a difficult task for many of us with the glorious wonders of technology and so many other distractions toying for our attention. and i do mean glorious, because i have met some of the most fantastic people through blogging and social media. but there needs to be a balance. of our online and our offline. i feel so fortunate to have this incredible online world of people who i have connected with, but we must keep in touch with those who are right in front of us, and with reality.
but technology and distractions are only part of the reason why i struggle with being present. my mind is strong, very strong. and it would work to my benefit if i could harness all that strength to think about the things i would like to be focusing on. rarely am i experiencing the moment in which i am in. even in the best moments, i’m usually not all there. my mind and thoughts will wander and spin and circulate. about things that happened earlier that day, week, month or years ago. obsessing over a tiny detail that doesn’t really matter. or i’ll be trying to live in the next moment, worrying about the future, tomorrow, ten years from now, or the next hour.
a constant and perpetual state of being overwhelmed by thoughts.
the acceptance party is a slippery little sucker, too. that’s where my perfectionism rears its lovely head. things are supposed to happen the way they were supposed to happen. from our plans for the evening to plans for the wedding and everything in between. my rigidness to the way it was “supposed to” happen becomes paralyzing. to be able to accept myself, my feelings, my thoughts AND (here’s the kicker) move forward… that, that is the goal.
2015 has a lot of fancy things in store for me already. i’m lined up to present on ‘unleashing the power of social media’ twice (once in las vegas and once in san diego), we’re working on renovations to our home, making some major overhauls with my blog and personal brand, numerous trips for both work and fun, oh and you know just getting MARRIED. and i don’t want to miss a moment of any of it. i’ve already robbed myself of so many moments, enough is enough. on our wedding day i don’t want to be worried about a million little things that have nothing to do with the fact that i will be surrounded by my family and friends and starting my life with my best friend. it’s going to be the best day ever, and i want to be there. for every tear of happiness, every laugh, every sassy comment, every kiss and every dance move. i will be mindful and i will be present.
it’s certainly not going to be easy, but if what easy – well i guess then i would probably have done it already. but i am going to try. 2015, i got you.
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