My Word for 2013: Choices

The turn of the calendar from 2012 to 2013 evokes different reactions. Some people make resolutions. Others reflect on the past year and set an intention for the next. Still others flip the calendar without fanfare. Most importantly, the new-year process should be personal, authentic, and sustainable. 

Two years ago I tried a different entry into the new year: thoughtful selection of a word. The idea was first introduced to me by Christine Kane. But this year Susannah Conway's "Unravelling the Year Ahead" was my guide. Yesterday and today, I've seriously reflected on the last year, while also bursting into 2013. This is my year of choices.

Choice certainly applies to my new professional path, but it also applies to all of life, big and small. What roles do I play? To what identities do I closely cling? Do these feed me? Do these hold me back?  What assumptions do I make about myself? Do these stop me from seeing myself in new ways or stop me from trying new things? Some of my well-grooved habits, roles, identities, assumptions no longer feed me, yet it takes mindfulness to recognize when this happens, and it's vital for me to understand I have a choice. I can choose to stop playing a certain role; I can choose to view myself in new ways; I can choose to walk different paths. Even in the face of external expectations to the contrary.

And at a bare-bones level, choice impacts me daily. A good reminder: my life is a compilation of my days. Where do I put my limited time and energy? What projects do I embrace? What projects can I release? When is non-doing the answer? What sets of choices make me feel energized, happy, and fulfilled as I lay down to sleep? I hope to ask these questions more often in my year of choices.