No Resolutions

I read something the other day about a different sort of New Year's Resolution. I think Chris Brogan was ultimately the source but I found it on Ivana Taylor's site. The idea was that instead of setting yourself up for failure with the typical "I will start exercising every day" or "I will quit smoking" kind of thing, you choose a few words that will serve as guides for the coming year.

Don't make them too specific. You're looking for big, fat, chewy words you can really get behind.

I've been mulling about my words for a few days. I decided that there should probably be two sets of words, one for Beth and the other for Lorna's Laces.

First up is Beth. I think one of my words needs to be Outward. It's far too easy for me to spend more time than I should worrying about the littlest of things. So I'm going to make a conscious effort not to let the people who live inside my head get out of hand. If I'm really honest, I should probably kick them out completely because they are behind on their rent.

Another aspect of Outward is more physical. I want to reach out and invite more people into my life. I met several wonderful folks over the holidays and I intend to take the next step and reach out and invite them to do something. Maybe dinner or coffee or mini golf when the weather gets nice.

The next word is Optimism. I once had a boss describe me in an annual review as having an acerbic sense of humor. I'm pretty sure she didn't mean it as a compliment. I firmly believe that being happy has as much to do with attitude as anything else. I'm going to keep pouring until my glass is at least half full all year long.

I'm going to stop with my two O words. They're pretty good guideposts for me.

For Lorna's Laces, I'm going to limit myself to one word but I'm going to look at it from a couple of different points of view. The word is Flow. The first sense I'm thinking of is continuing the Flow. I'm proud of the job we do here for our customers. Our yarns are beautiful and we treat people well. Keeping those ideas in the front of our mind will always be a priority so I like to reiterate it to myself and the crew each year.

Another aspect of Flow is the idea of inspiration. In order for us do the very best we can, we need to maintain an mindful openness and let our imagination have its way with us.

The last aspect of Flow I have in mind is a little cheesy so bear with me. It is the concept of letting the creativity Flow through our hearts and hands to yours and letting your hands create a tangible expression of the hopes and dreams you have for the person who receives what you make. That person can be yourself, a loved one or a total stranger but they are getting a little piece of everyone who has touched the yarn along the way.