My New Year's Resolution: Focus

This 2014 year was good to me. I decided to make a change and use a single word to define the goal for my year. That word was intention. My thoughts on how I did? I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

I was sick of lying around and wasting my days. Being homebound is an obvious side effect of having an infant and a two year old, but I wanted my days to be more full, more meaningful. Intention was the perfect companion to those dull, and sometimes frustrating, days.

We thoughtfully went out and explored new places. I was able to expand my library and acquaint myself with new literature and music. I finally let myself let go of toxic feelings and people in my life. I worked really hard to find new opportunities in blogging and I feel like I achieved that. Conversely, I (kinda, sorta) learned how to unplug myself from technology without feeling guilt or impulse. (But I am still working on it!) We even moved to fulfill our needs for our growing family.

Like I said, 2014 really was a wonderful year. There were mounds of amazing growth, personally and as a family. And I look forward to carrying over my goals under the umbrella of intention into a new concept for 2015...

Focus.

All of those ideas and adventures I experienced were incredible, and I really learned how to seek after the things I want in life. I found a quote a few years ago, and it stuck out to me as a motto to live by, "In order to lead a fascinating life—one brimming with art, music, intrigue, and romance—you must surround yourself with precisely those things." So here I am! I am surrounding myself with the things I want in life. But it seems a little... messy? Chaotic? I feel like there were so many things I wanted to do that much of it got lost. They were buried deep in the thick of journals scribbled with thoughts and calendars unrealistically packed with events and deadlines.

This year is about highlighting the things that matter and applying a tack sharp focus on how to go about living a purposeful life "brimming with art, music, intrigue and romance." My time with Luke and Wes will be more attentive and less full of distractions. My relationship with Matt will be nurtured more and I will work to put down my phone or iPad and be completely present when we are watching a movie together or out on a date.

I am going to blog with more focus, too. This might mean I will be posting more of what I love. Whether it's a post full of photographs (something that has turned into a love and hobby for me) from a day discovering new places, or me writing out the innermost parts of my brain and heart, I want it to be meaningful. I want to share more of my thoughts on how I really feel about life and the things around me without being afraid of people thinking I am an idiot or a stark, raving lunatic. And I don't want to be apologetic for who I am. I am absolutely SICK of blog stats and dissecting my analytics reports. Seriously. Is it really going to matter how many visitors I had in 2015 when 2035 rolls around? I really don't think so. I am absolutely appreciative that this blog is able to bring in some extra income for our family, and it is not possible without that side of things, but I also feel that the glossy effect of commercials and magazines has slowly crept its way in to social media and blogs. And honestly, I don't know if that's all I ever want to see, or create. I love creating posts with content that is useful, but I want to know and show that people still bleed, and cry and are real.

I suppose the optimal word I am reaching for here is "relatable." That's why I do this. I want to find people like me. And chances are that if you are reading this, you are like me! In fact, I know we would be marvelous friends in real life! And that's what life is really all about. Relationships. To quote the great Maya Angelou, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Here is to living with focus. Here is to intently concentrating on the moment. And here is to connecting with people in a genuine, conscientious way.

(Image source)