In lieu of New Year’s resolutions, I’ve decided to instead focus on 4 words that I want to be able to use to define my life at the end of 2009. The idea comes from Carrie McCarty & Danielle LaPorte  who wrote this great book, Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design. I picked it up at the end of the summer as a part of my quest to do some self-reflection & just some basic figuring out. Anyways, life got in the way & I really wasn’t in the mood to be too self-reflective, until last week when I picked the book back up & started going through it.

The book walks you through a personal inventory to create a style statement which is kind of like personal branding, I guess. Essentially you come up with 2 words that help define who you are. It’s not meant to restrict or limit you, but rather to get you to look at what you truly value & who you really are. At this point, I’m only about half-way through the exercises, so I don’t know what my style statement is yet. But, I’ve been checking out their website & they have a daily Q&A, and today’s question was “What word describes your desire for 2009?” I did some thinking & was only able to narrow it down to 4; but those 4 actually really define what I want to do this year.

1. CONNECTED: I could say that it’s only been the last 3 months in which I’ve felt scattered & disconnected, but I’ve come to realize that’s not true. I’ve let myself get very disconnected, scattered, & distracted from what I like, love, want, & from the moment in general. So, at the end of 2009 I want to say that I’ve reconnected to what I like, what I love, & what I want. I want to say that I’ve lived in the moment, & let it get away from me less. I also want to be better connected to the people in my life & things I have fun doing.

2. CENTERED: Very related to CONNECTED. For me, CENTERED is just about being calm, and again in the moment. At the end of 2009 I want to be able to say that I feel in sync–emotionally, physically, spiritually, creatively.

3. ACTUALIZED: Originally I had the words FOLLOW THROUGH for this one, but came across ACTUALIZED, which is a synonym. For me, this means following through on my goals & finishing what I talk about starting or doing. So, the novel & freelance writing would fall under this word. At the end of 2009, I want to be able to say that I ACTUALIZED my dreams/goals.

4. PROSPERED: At first I didn’t have this down, but then thought why not. Why shouldn’t I want to prosper? I’m just looking to be comfortable & secure, & maybe to help out family who have taken care of me in the past. I’m not looking for extraordinary wealth; although that would allow me to help out more people. At the end of 2009, I just want to be able to say that I PROSPERED doing the things I love & that money was not something I had to stress or worry about.

So, there’s this year’s version of  resolution. I think I can handle making these a reality.

Image: The West End via flickr