Sunday, January 2, 2011

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.

7 comments:

Jody said...

don't sweat the small stuff
everything is small stuff
when you can't fight or flee ...
FLOW
many happy returns of each of your O days!!!! Well done!

Lisa said...

Love it!! Good luck on the journey.

Anonymous said...

I really like your O words. Thank you for sharing them. Just the thought of optimism makes my heart feel lighter. The outward word, in context of reaching out and inviting more people into one's life, speaks to me as well.

Stefanie said...

Awesome words of wisdom here. I kept getting asked what were my NY Resolutions and I'm like I don't make any really b/c I'll just break them. I did make a few knitting ones, ones that I'm totally psyched for.
You do have an awesome company and I love that worsted Shepherd yo. It totally rocks. The feel is so nice to the touch and the last project I made in Cookie's Deep Dark Secret got rave reviews.

Syd said...

That last aspect of Flow is not cheesy, it is the joy of our work with fiber and it is multiplied by each person who touches and handles it as it becomes something else. Isn't that the spirit of creativity?

Lorna's Laces said...

Thanks Syd, you're right. It's not cheesy. I just sometimes worry about when I put that kind of thing in word. It's nice to have my feelings reaffirmed.

maria said...

Thanks for sharing this. Funny how you find things right when you need them. I am going to think on this for a while. I like Outward.. and right along with this I think I like Fearless. Here is to over coming worry.