Repost: G is for Gumption

Hi Friends! We hope your Holidays were lovely and that you've got swingin' plans for New Years as well. We're only sort of half-way back from our blogging vacation; for the next few days we'll be reposting some treasures from the archives that will be new to some of you and reruns for others, but hopefully they'll bring new insight and inspiration regardless. First up, Danielle's clever spin on New Year's resolutions...

Last January Danielle took a different approach to resolution-making. We loved it so much that we asked her to share some thoughts about it at Bloom as resolution-making season is upon us. As always, it was a treat to get a little taste of what's rolling around in that exceptionally creative mind of hers...

Resolution

To say that I am not a list maker would be incorrect.

I make lots of lists…mostly as a way to quiet my buzzing, helter-skelter, mind.

My lists rarely get check-marked. I am a goal finisher, but not a list finisher. And, when it comes to self-improvement, I tend to think and work in ebbing and flowing ideals rather than easily checkable lists.

So at New Year’s resolution time, rather than making big lists of things like: “Run a marathon”, or “Lose 10 pounds”, I focus instead on a single word that represents the ideal I’d like to be the overall theme for my year.

I got this idea from my clever mother in law.

It works well for me.

Mindful. Last January I’d had my first baby. I was trying to soak up every ounce of her baby-ness that I could. I wanted to just be with her, with my husband, in my home. I wanted quiet, and my own thoughts. I wanted to be un-swayed, unaffected by the outside world. I just wanted to focus on things that mattered for us. I wanted less mindless busyness, and more purposeful living.

And so the word I chose for my theme was, “mindful”.

It set the tone for 2009 beautifully. Focusing on that single word helped me really accomplish my overall goal for that time in my life, which was to simplify and be tuned in to our needs.

And now…despite my best efforts to keep her unchanged, my baby is one year older. She has grown from a tiny helpless being, to the walking, talking toddler who is sitting next to me eating pizza in bed as I type this.

She’s grown and so have I.

And this year will bring new things to our family. I can feel it.

Gumption. When I really consider the women I most admire and want to emulate, it's not their collective creativeness or intelligence or talent that inspires me most. Nope its something else…something more.

It’s their willingness to do hard things, to not complain, to make things happen, to use tools, to not be a victim, to replace the toilet valve without a man, to fear not, to try something new, to fail and try again, to take initiative, and to find a way.

It's their courage. It's their gumption.

So, as I face 2010, it's gumption I need…

Gumption I want.

If 2009 was a year of introspection and quietly residing within myself, then 2010 will be a year of breaking out, trying hard things, letting go of fear, and making things happen.

I can feel it.

2010…I am coming at you…with gumption.

What will the coming year bring for you?

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