Happy New Year!

I usually make a list of resolutions on my birthday so I don't always make a full list at the New Year. Instead, in recent years I have started choosing a single word that I want to focus on. Past words have included learning and courage. This year, I wanted a word that could be applied to every aspect of my life in a relatively straightforward manner, so I settled on...


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To be totally transparent, I am incredibly self-critical, paralyzingly so. The number of times my mother has to tell me to stop being so hard on myself is almost embarrassing. I often only see the gaps between where I am and where I 'should' be. Or I'll focus on where I was (sometimes years ago) to where I 'should' be--cutting out the present all together. As her and I have discussed this unfortunate pass time of mine, I've realized that this is simply a poor habit that must be broken. 

I don't think any of us are ever exactly where we want to be--I know that I'm certainly not and I often struggle with appreciating how far I've come while also being acutely aware of how far I have to go. In the past few months, however, I've learned that progression does not have to come at the expense of satisfaction. We can have both at the same time. 

As part of my 101 in 1001, I'll be keeping a gratitude journal for at least 6 months. When I first wrote that on my list, I already had a sense of what I wanted my 2018 word to be and I didn't think the two were that closely related. The more I have thought about what it means to be content and to have a positive outlook on life, however, I have concluded that contentment is all about gratitude. Gratitude takes away the lens of comparison and illuminates the abundance and beauty of life. So I suppose that I could have just as easily chose gratitude as the word for 2018. 

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