Adjectives, not resolutions, for 2013

A few weeks ago I did something that was outside the realm of my personal comfort zone. To most people it would have been as mundane as washing their hair or mowing the lawn, but for me it's something that is intensely unpleasant. I bucked up, did what had to be done, and got on with life. It's better, more often than not, to suffer in the moment, than to prolong an unwanted experience for days or weeks on end and suffer agony on top of the eventual reality of what you know simply must be done. And this got me thinking.

Thinking about bravery, about gumption, about moxie, and confidence, and as the day wore on, as my nerves settled a bit, other words began to flash into my mind, not about myself per se, but about the traits, be they ingrained or donned like a superhero costume when need be that we all have, and those which we aspire to apply more to our own lives.

Nestled into the taupe hued sofa in our living room, I began reflecting back over the past year once again and it struck me just how many times I'd stepped outside of my comfort zone over the last twelve months, and how - more often than not - my life had gotten better in some regard because of it.

Throughout my adult life I've often tried to consciously get better at various things, to improve those that I'm less than stellar at, and to stare fear straight in the eyes until it backs down. This will never change, it's tied to my tenacious nature, but that doesn't mean that I can't keep working and improving myself. Every can, and should, continue to better themselves however possible.

New Year's resolutions can be fantastic little critters indeed, but I've long been of the opinion that one can make a resolution at any point in the year, if they so desire, no need to wait for the ball to drop in Times Square (as I discussed in this post last January), so I'm not really setting any hard and fast resolutions that will kick into effect with the speedometer rolls over once more on January 1st .

There are goals I'm working on already, others that I'll likely kick off later this year, and some that will probably come about throughout 2013 that I'm not even aware of the possibility of yet. No, instead of resolutions for the coming year, I'm making a list of the adjectives that I want to personify, get better at, and work on rocking as often as possible - even when doing so sends a shiver of fear or worry down my spine.

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I want to be, or will continue to be brave, confident, creative, beautiful, open (to new experiences and opportunities), thrifty, adventurous, and awesome.

These are my words for the year. Reminders both big and small of who I am, who I want to be, and who I'm developing into as I continue to grow.

The older I get (and at nearly 28.5, believe me, I'm scarcely a spring chicken these days), the more I come to realize that so much of what we think is holding us back, truly isn't. So often it's just a matter of changing our mindset, stepping out of our comfort zone, and being ok with not knowing what tomorrow may bring that launches that greatest changes - the moves and decisions that are more than just resolutions, but full on revolutions in our own lives.

You’ve got to love that. I sure do and I cannot wait to live my adjectives in the exciting year ahead.