One Word for 2015: Cherish

Have you heard of "One Word"? It's a rather new trend where, during the start of the year, instead of making New Year resolutions, you choose one word that will guide the way you live your life that entire year. Resolutions are easily broken / forgotten, but one word? It will echo in your brain every single day ;-) I've first heard of this in 2013. Back then, my one word was SIMPLIFY. Here's a little background why I chose it: since my college days, I have simplified my life to have time for what is important, to lessen my carbon footprint, to be able to live freely without worrying about money. I lived this simplified lifestyle for a good 12 years when 2009 came and I found out we were pregnant.

source: http://meganklauerdesign.blogspot.com/2012/12/one-little-word-2013-simplify.html

Finding out we were pregnant set me in panic mode. Because nothing is simple when you have kids right? Need money to buy clothes, feeding bottles, beddings, toys, etc, etc. The list was seemingly endless. We managed when we had our first baby in 2010. When the youngest was born in 2012, I was sorely missing my simple single life. Then I realized that except for the commercial crap I've been buying for the kids, the rest of my parenting style was "simple".

That is, I babywear, breastfeed, co-sleep and cloth diaper my babies instead of using bulky strollers, expensive formula milk, cribs and disposable diapers. Less carbon footprint, affordable child-rearing! And so I chose SIMPLIFY in 2013: to bring simplicity in all the other areas of my life. It's still a guiding word until now because, my gosh, stuff for kids (not from me) accumulate! When you're a mother, the mantra is declutter and simplify~ to be repeated until infinity! o.O

source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41306521556093303

Yep, you guessed it! COMMITMENT was my one word for 2014. I am a procrastinator, I admit to that fault wholeheartedly. I am also NOT a finisher. I start doing projects and then forget about it when the excitement wanes. I'm not sure why I'm like this but my higher than average grades in school probably reinforced this nasty habits of mine. Because of my high grades, I do not feel the need to finish class projects or papers because even if I won't submit (or fail) it, my final grade will still be a passing grade. Grades didn't matter to me also so getting high grades isn't a priority. The only thing that mattered to me was that I am learning interesting stuff in school.

Fast forward to adulthood and having two kids. Commitment is sorely needed when you're a mom, and sadly, I haven't had practice / training for it. Baby books half-finished, playroom reorganization half-done, pureed food preparations gone stale, to name a few projects I haven't completed. What got done? DIY birthday parties, educational projects, milestones tracking. I then realized that I thrive on STRICT deadlines. I love the thrill of being pressured to finish something because it's needed the next freakin' day by another person (my baby)! And so in 2014, I chose to be committed to my projects and finish it by (date) or else (sanction). It was effective.. until the busy Christmas season set in! :p

After that very long ramble (are you still there? haha), my one word for 2015: CHERISH.

After successfully simplifying my life and rewiring my commitment ethos, I figured it's time to work on my attitude. Or is it my personality? You see I'm an introvert and for most part, I hate chitchat and just wants to be left alone. And when bothered, I can be a bit abrasive and loud. I hate to be touched needlessly (which is what young kids do to you all day long), I hate to waste energy answering nonsense questions (which is what young kids ask all day long), I hate to be bothered. PERIOD. And when you have kids, you will be bothered all day long. What I'm trying to say is that on bad days, I really get short-tempered with our daughters, and to be honest, with everybody else. And I mean everybody including my parents, dear hubby, etc.

And when I become a loud monster, the other party gets hurt~ emotionally, psychologically. My mom feels it the most. She always says, "Why can't you talk properly / respectfully / normally? Don't raise your voice. Don't shout." 100% true story. My kids? They don't take it personally but I know one way or another it will mark them. The thing is, I love my family dearly. It's just that they don't understand how I'm wired (hubby understands maybe 75% of the time, lol); that when I reach my daily quota of social interaction or mental exertion, I shut down. If you bother me in that shut down mode, you are bound to get hurt. Sometimes I reach that quota early in the morning and I know it's gonna be a looong day for all of us.

And so, in 2015, I will be mindful of how I act towards my loved ones~ especially when I'm in shut down mode. I will try to increase my interaction quota so I can accommodate my kids' antics (they're just being kids after all) the entire day. Gurus often say that accepting your limitations is the first step of overcoming them. By virtue of being an introvert, I am limited to how much interaction I can take BUT I can certainly control how I will act / react when I have interacted too much / has shut down. I can and will overcome this limitation.

THIS YEAR, I CHOSE TO CHERISH MY FAMILY. I will treat my husband with tenderness and affection, I will nurture with care my lovely daughters, I will foster good relations with my parents and my family, I will hold dear and spend time with my friends, I will indulge my talents, I will encourage healthy living, I will cherish my life. Throughout 2015, cherish will be my guiding word in everything that I do. I hope to be successful in this as I was with SIMPLIFY and COMMITMENT :)

How about you? Do you have a guiding word for 2015 or are you still doing New Year resolutions? Do share your thoughts in the comments section; I love to hear different perspectives! <3