This is a three part post. Part one is about setting my intention for the year; part two is about my mind body and spirit resolution, and part three is about my creative path.

Part One – My One Word

Last year in January of 2015 I chose My One Word for the year. It was really two words – Yes, and. My inspiration came from a chapter in Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants where she talks about the second rule of improv. Saying “Yes, and…” to situations as much as possible means not being afraid to contribute, to add something to the conversation. Keeping this rule of agreement and forward movement in mind has taught me to be open minded and creative and to respect what others have created, or are trying to create.

This year My One Word for 2016 was taken from the hindu practice of expressing gratitude for assistance offered or given, and to thank the other person for his or her generous kindness.  Namaste. Namaste means “The light in me, honors the light in you,”  or “spirit in me recognizes the spirit in you,” or even “the thing that is most alive in me connects with the thing that is most alive in you.” I hope this word helps me be grateful for others, honor others, recognize others, and connect with others.

Part Two – Connecting Mind, Body and Spirit

I will be participating in #YogaCamp. A 30 day yoga challenge put on by Adrian from the YouTube channel Yoga With Adrian. In this thirty day series, Adrian will help connect me not only with my physical best, but my mental and spiritual best. Really looking forward to this “whole” kind of yoga.

In addition, I will do a plank per day, holding it for an increasing amount of time. I will also add arm exercises with weights.

Part Three – Kickstarting My Creativity

I’m taking a fresh approach to really commit to developing a creativity habit. To that end, I’m going to follow a daily creative ‘spark’ from Brainsparker.com. Creativity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more you have. And just like my yoga practice, over the next 30 days I hope to stretch, strengthen and stimulate all of my creativity muscles!

This is especially toward establishing my writing practice. My Intro to Creative Writing class with published author Liz Severn starts this month and I am really looking forward to working on creating a portfolio, and working on my craft.

---

So those are the overall and daily portions of my intention for this year. In addition to those, there is also a list of things I want to include in my life toward some goals. They are:

• Get back on the Profile ‘wagon’
• 10K steps/day
• 64 oz water/day
• Eat mostly vegetables
• No alcohol, until I have reached 2/3 of my weight loss goal.
  • Original goal 60 pound loss – current loss 20, 20 more to 2/3rds goal, 20 more to goal
  • 1 pound/week = October  2 pounds/week = May
• Take a picture daily of my face
  • Private use only, but good reference for weight loss
• Weekly practice of my Rosetta Stone Irish language lessons
• Read more books, less Facebook
• Rent a ‘Big Chill’ house, and classic car for an August road trip to Goleta for the 40 year reunion.
• Wardrobe reset
• Find the humor, not the judgement
• Attitude of gratitude for the people in my life. Those that vex me are my teachers.

---

Also, a word about achieving my previous year’s goals.

Losing 20 pounds, and keeping it off is an amazing start, and more than I’ve ever achieved before toward my ultimate and elusive annual goal. Looking back on my 2013 graphic goal poster, I’ve actually achieved a substantial number of items listed there. Some of those items are things to be mindful of always, so should transfer year to year. The way I see it, there are really only two items I have yet to accomplish – The hoppy beer brewing, and to redo the kitchen and dining room, and those will have to wait until a year where we don’t have trips to California and Norway, and college loans to pay!

Namaste y’all!