At this time last year, I chose the word FEARLESS to be my word of 2012.
When I wrote that post, I had no idea how much my ability to be fearless would be tested in 2012.
We bought a house just a month after my husband started a new (commission-based) job and with my income being highly variable.
My sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Our kids started another new school.
I got laid off 3 months after moving into our house.
I struggled with my professional abilities.
As a family, we looked all of these challenges right in the eye and stared them down. There were tears, there was worry, but there was also a constant whisper in the back of my head: it will all be okay.
And it is.
As I look ahead to 2013, I pondered what word I might want to describe the coming year. What do I want 2013 – and my place in it – to be?
I thought of a lot of shoulds:
I should be mindful.
I should be present.
I should be balanced.
I should be confident.
I should be content.
I should be open.
I should be challenged.
Then I spent most of the first week of a 23-day school holiday break ignoring all of the things my brain told me I SHOULD be doing:
I should be seeing what my friends are up to on Facebook.
I should be getting to the post office to mail that package.
I should be writing more blog posts.
I should be organizing my 10,000+ photos.
I didn’t do any of those things.
I slept in every day. I reveled in our silly new dog’s antics. I read books to my kids. I made them waffles when they wanted waffles, instead of saying I was too busy. None of what I did was planned. It just was. When a life moment presented itself to me, I just lived it – without thinking about it and without asking myself if there was a better use of my time.
It occurred to me this morning that there’s a power one gains in ignoring all of the things one SHOULD be; a power in not trying so hard to control the undercurrents of life; a power in sitting at the edge of the shore and letting the next wave come to you.
If I ignore the SHOULD, all that’s left is the BE.
It a ridiculously simple word, and yet, to just BE is never that easy.
So my word for 2013 is Be.
I will be wherever life wants me to. Not where I should go, but where I am, right here, right now.
And that sounds about as perfect as it gets.
About the Author Gigi Ross
I'm a blogger, social media geek, mom and wife, foodie, reality TV addict and Jason Mraz fangirl. Not in that order. I write here about parenting, blogging, technology, social media and pop culture.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I have spent the last year + removing the word “should” from my vocabulary. It’s not motivating, encouraging or inspiring. Fearless was my word for last year, too.
Yay for you and your family for surviving life’s challenges last year. I wish for you a new year that is much less challenging.
Trish´s last [type] ..My goals for 2013
I abandoned should long ago, but then again, I am a hopeless underachiever
I do make pancakes every morning for my kids because I want to.
Happy New Year Gigi.
Poppy´s last [type] ..The Maids Milk Must Have Been Sour, It Wasn’t My Sugar Cookies
That is very brave, wise and special. When the business side throws a curveball priorities always shift for the better. Happy New Year!
Catherine Johnson´s last [type] ..Song of the Camels
It does sound perfect. Happy New Year my friend.
Oh how I love this!!! It is SO hard to just BE. And yet, aren’t those the moments we cherish? Shoulds suck. I live in the world of “shoulds”… Thanks for the inspiration to let them go and truly BE in the moment that comes and EMBRACE the gifts that come with it.
Happy New YEAR!!!
Chris Carter´s last [type] ..New Year Resolution 2013
Great word!! Sometimes we all just need to Be.
Hugs!
Valerie
Valerie´s last [type] ..Welcome 2013! I am the Hero of this story. I don’t need to be saved.
When you will accept challenges like that from life then you will feel an unique kind of energy in yourself. For do all work brake all barriers which are stopping you to doing your work.
Sam@India carnival´s last [type] ..Goa Holiday Packages
I think my word is pretty similar – at least, the root behind it. It’s “fun.”
(My SIL was also diagnosed with breast cancer).
Lady Jennie´s last [type] ..My Memoire
“Be” it is! The hardest thing for me is to be – not just the doing, but the accepting – just as you described so beautifully. I’ll join you in staying in the here and now, one moment at a time. Thank you!
Mary @ A Teachable Mom´s last [type] ..One at a Time
“Be” is perfect. Might adopt it myself.
Nina´s last [type] ..The Relaunch of Great New Books
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