My intentions for 2013

Yesterday, I told you some of what happened in 2012. Now, I’m gonna talk about my intentions for this new year. And yes, I know we’re halfway into the first month. Life just sometimes gets in the way…

Every year, I get out my journal and write down a list of things I plan to do during the upcoming year. And I look at my list from the previous year, and make note of how I did. If I didn’t do so well, I don’t beat myself up. I just resolve to do better. Sometimes my intentions (or resolutions, as a lot of people call them) are specific, like complete a certain project; sometimes they are more general.

These, my dear readers (good and bad {tee hee}), are the general ones that might be useful for you too.

1. Be happy. Sometimes, this is harder than you think. For some reason, us humans tend to focus on the negative. And us creative tend to focus on that even more than other people. So, I’m going to try to focus on the positive, and keep a jar full of happy. I saw
   <-- this graphic posted on Facebook, and I think it’s a fabulous idea. I don’t yet have a ‘jar’ (or box), but I have been writing down my ‘happy’ things, and I can look at them anytime I need a pick-me up. Just seeing my pile of ‘happies’ makes me smile.
    
2. Have some fun. This can also be hard to do. It’s easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of life ~ laundry, dishes, dirty floors, kitty litter that needs scooping ~ and forget to appreciate everything around us, and forget that relaxation and fun, whether it’s dinner with a friend or just turning up my tunes and dancing in my studio, are just as important as keeping the dust bunnies (or in my case, fur bunnies) away.
    
3. Remember: Baby Steps! This is one of my mantras: baby steps. Baby steps. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, just by thinking of all the things that need doing. But each task or project is really just a series of little tasks that have to be done to complete the whole. So, by taking it one step at a time, I am able to get things done (as opposed to sitting on my studio floor in a quivering, unproductive mass).
    
4. Try not to fix everything or overextend myself, and say no. This is a big thing for me. As I shared in my post Learning to Say No, I have this tendency to want to assist when I see a need. But I can’t help everyone, and I can’t fix everything. Saying no is sometimes the best thing for me to do ~ and ultimately the person will solve the problem on their own, or someone who has the time/means to assist will do so.
    
5. Work on my patience. Do y’all remember the old saying “Lord give me patience! And hurry!”?!?! That’s me. It’s strange how patient I am with some things ~ and people ~ and others, I just want them to happen now. Especially when I’ve been mulling something over, and I’ve made the decision. But of course things don’t usually happen immediately. (And in the publishing business, they take even longer.)
    
6. Let go of fear, and be open to prosperity & opportunity. As a creative person, it’s easy to get literally petrified with fear. Is what I’m doing worth doing? Is it a steaming pile of poo? Will anyone like it? What’s the point? Etc., etc., etc. Fear is probably the number one reason I haven’t finished another book. I’m going to try to release the fear and write, and create, anyway.
    
7. Be open to prosperity & opportunity. This is also part of letting go of fear ~ being open to good things coming into my life. Welcoming them. Embracing them.
    
8. Continue my healing journey, both physical and mental. This includes getting my insomnia under better control (it’s awful hard to be productive during the day when I’ve been up the entire night), eating healthy, and exercising. Mentally, this includes going to counseling, and making sure I take my medication. And yes, it’s scary to admit to the world that I take anti-depressants, but saying it is part of Shining a Light. I’ll write a blog post on this eventually. I’m also working on forgiving myself (and others) for shortcomings. A great website is Radical Forgiveness. I’ve found the Radical Forgiveness worksheet to be very useful.
    
9. Be good to myself, my husband, and my friends & family. Another hard one, especially when I’m in the throes of a depression. It’s hard to see how I can do anyone any good ~ or give them what they need ~ when I’m down. I can truly say I did my best last year, but I know I can do better.
    
10. Create & write & paint & photograph & sing. Yup, do what I was born to do. And do it every day. And I’ll continue promoting other artists and writers on this blog.
     
    I’m also participating in the A Photo a Day challenge for 2013. A couple of my friends are doing it, and I thought it would be a good exercise for me. It takes discipline to take a photo and post it every single day. Some days you just don’t feel like it. Some days you don’t know what to shoot. You can see my photos thus far for 2013 on my Facebook page (and of course,—>
    these are them, right here.). For fun, I’m having a contest ~ like photos in the album, tell me you liked them in the Rafflecopter thingy on my giveaway page on Facebook, and each month this year one lucky person will win an 11″ x 14″ print of their favorite photo!

Here’s to a great 2013! Blessings to all of you!