Not a word

A lot of my blogging friends are talking about their word for the year. I admit, I've tried it in the past. But can I be honest? I can't even remember my word a week later.  So this year, as my friends were once again talking about their words for the year, I tried thinking of a word for the year, and then I thought, what's the point if I'm not even going to remember it in two weeks?

Then I started thinking about my goals and resolutions for the year. And to be honest, I wasn't very excited about doing it. I was thinking about last year's goals, and I don't even remember where they are! I put them somewhere really important so I could find them and refer to them, and...

Here's where I've decided to come down on it all:

Yes, I do want to make positive changes in my life. But honestly, I feel like doing it just because the date has changed is a little false and arbitrary. What's different in me that makes me want to change simply because it's January 1st instead of December 31st? As the calendar rolled over, did the moon and stars suddenly come into alignment so I will succeed where I've previously failed?

Didn't think so.

For me to make a change, I need something more than a list or flipping the page on a calendar. I need a deeper reason to force me to act. So as I thought about what I want to do in 2013, I realized that I'm already on the path I want to be. No, I'm not perfect, and I haven't arrived. But let's take a look at some old goals and where I am:

1. Finances. Last year, I made a goal to pay off a certain amount of debt and have a certain amount of money in savings. I don't remember what the numbers were, but I do remember looking at it in March and realizing that it was completely unrealistic and tossing it aside. That said, because I set the goal and was intentional about saving money and paying off debt, not only did I pay off our car, but I got 1/3 of the way paid down on a debt that I've had for years and couldn't make progress on. So I'm going to keep moving forward on that, and, if I stay on track, doing what I'm doing, it'll be paid off in two years. Yay me!

2. Health and fitness. UGH!! I wanted to lose the 20 pounds my doctor has been nagging me about. I gained five. Part of it was due to a hip injury that had me unable to do much of anything- I was literally told not to exercise. Not that I minded. So this year, I am being more intentional about moving more, eating better, but for now, I'm not going to focus on the number. I'm playing it like I did the finances last year- being intentional about making better choices in small ways, but not going for the gusto in a huge way.

3. Writing. Um, let's just not talk about that. At this point, I have no real goals, and I'm just putting one foot in front of the other. I'm taking some writing classes, working on some books, and we'll see where it leads. For now, I have two books almost ready to submit, and I will submit them, but that's about all I'm going to commit to.

As for other goals, I have a few things I am working on. But I'm taking the same approach and not putting into a big list or anything like that. I'm just putting one foot in front of the other and making progress in the direction of things that are important to me. I'm not sure that's something I can quantify in a word.

Do you have a word? Or are you like me, and unable to quantify it that way?