2017 in three words

I know I am extremely late to this party, but I always feel that there simply isn’t time over the Christmas period for true reflection and preparation, but that is just me. I warn you this post is not New Years resolutions, per say. But rather my sentiment or attitude for the New Year.

Also can I take this moment to apologise as not blogging since CHRISTMAS DAY is simply disgraceful, I hang my head in shame.

I was going to completely ignore the New Year on my blog as I feel this time of year is saturated with highly talented bloggers coherently expressing their resolutions and plans for their blog, whereas my mind (as I’m sure you have noticed) is more of a scattered mess of incoherent, disconnected, thoughts. Despite being a strategist who adores lists, my plans and dreams for 2017 would seem like a mess written down in a post not dissimilar to this, and it may just go on forever and end up the length of a novel. This combined with my inevitable failure of achieving such resolutions I just let the year pass and my life move on.

Then I saw many bloggers talk about their ‘word’ for the year, the Huffington Post has a pretty decent post about why you should chose a word and how to choose a word. 2016 for me was the year of ‘Change’, although not chosen at the start of the year, I would happily describe 2016 as that. I am at a crucial time in my life, I have just finished my education (reflections on that to follow my Graduation on Tuesday, eeekkkk), started a new job, and am happier than ever in my relationship. So in that vein I have decided to almost choose my ‘key words’ (yes, I also got violent flashbacks to high school by using that phrase) for 2017, as choosing one seems pretty impossible. 

In contrast to my personality that is addicted to spreadsheet and meticulously documenting every aspect on life, these words can not be tangibly traced, but rather I hope they just become part of me. Even in describing them, I can picture so clearly in my head just how these words feel to me, however I feel the written word is failing me. Maybe it is in this that the strength of choosing word/s is truly shown, if it is so clear to me then they are not completely unattainable. 

So without further ado, lets just jump straight into it!

Balance [noun]

1. Harmony of design and proportion
2. Mental or emotional stability

I am so guilty of letting my work-life balance completely fall out of kilter, but not this year. Suffering from crappy boughts of depression in the past means I now stand with little to no hobbies and feeling like I have a lot of ground to reclaim, but also a lot of new passions to discover. Thats what balance means to me, working hard but playing harder. And as the Oxford definition expresses, this should help to stabilise me mentally meaning a fresher mind set for 2017.

Focus [noun]

The state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition

Whislst you are thigh deep in academic texts followed by lots of deadlines it is so easy to loose sight of the ‘bigger picture’. Your life becomes a chain of “ I want to get X% in this assignment, so I can get X% in this module, which means I should get X% in this year and hopefully finish with X% in my degree “. I wish to spend this year re-focusing on what I wish to truly accomplish in life, I have dreams and ambitions, but this year is the year I action them. Starting my mood boards, we use them at work as a useful starting point, so I figure the same should work for me personally.

Growth [noun]

1. The process of developing physically, mentally, or spiritually
2. The process of increasing in amount, value, or importance

And finally, I hope to grow. I hope to grow as a person, I hope to grow professionally and I hope to grow emotionally. 

I hope you have enjoyed this post, but please do let me know what your goals for this (already disappearing) year are. 

You can always leave a comment below, or contact me on any of my social media I am going to try to 'micro blog' more on instagram so keep your eyes peeled for some real time thoughts from inside my head.
Steph