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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Know Who You Are: My Word For 2012

I believe it is important to know who you are.
To be able to look in the mirror and face up to the good the bad and the ugly.
So it is with this self knowledge that I have made an important decision.

I've chosen a word.
One that sits comfortably on my shoulders,
but not so comfortable that I don't know it's there.
I want it to shine bright for all the world to see.

I have never chosen one word before to use as my focus for the year.
It always seemed too confining.
And I could never find one that seemed to fit.

But this year I wanted to give it a try.
I've been thinking about it for awhile.
Back on Dec 31st, I even threw out a few possibilities on Facebook.
Fearless was an early favourite,  but I didn't like that "fear" was a part of the word.
I also tried out Awesome for a positive spin on the year,
and just for a moment... Cake was also a contender, but for obvious reasons, was not in my best interest.
I thought about Focus, but again it was too open ended.

I wasn't completely happy with any of them.
So I figured once again I would live a wordless year in 2012.
I've never been one to jump on a bandwagon anyway.

But it just kept bugging me.
For some reason I wanted to find that illusive word.
And sure enough after letting it sit on the shelf for a month,
I've found one that I am thrilled with.

Finish.

You see I am a great starter.
I love to start things! 
But for some reason, I never seem to break through that tape at the finish line.

If we're looking for an analogy of my life here, I think this one might give you a little insight:
The race starts and I begin at a good pace,
checking my pulse with an eye on the road.
But about half way
I start swatting at the bees,
and wishing I had bought new batteries for my iPod,
and tying my shoelaces,
which of course I need to step off the trail to do. 
And while I'm off the trail I figure I may as well try to find a water fountain.
And then I can't help myself and I start smelling the flowers,
while down the trail, I buy an ice cream at the ice cream truck,
which then reminds me I need to buy more milk, 
and maybe some cheese bread.
And before you know it,
I'm standing in my kitchen wondering why I'm wearing a headband 
and melting ice cream is sitting on my counter.

And the race?
It ended two hours ago, short one racer.

This race of which I write?
I place my feet on the start line, each and every morning.

So you see, I am very excited about this word Finish.
It is going to be my mantra.
It could possibly change my life.

If I Finish all the things I start this year,
I could very well end up having to change my name to Martha Stewart Aniston PDub FlyLady.
Plus the tag line on this blog would have to change to 
It's an Orderly, Clean, Beautiful Life and I happen to live it.

I know,
You may end up hating me.

But I'll have to take that risk.

Funnily enough,
the one thing I have never e.v.e.r. had trouble Finishing.
was the food on my plate.
It is now time to take this great skill and apply it to all areas of my life.
So with this last thought,
I will Finish this post.

Grete Waitz 
For every finish-line tape a runner breaks - complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras - there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about.

But don't you worry... I definitely plan on talking about it.
Welcome to 2012 my friends!

Over and out at Bungalow'56!


xoxo,

Jenny Matlock
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23 comments:

  1. That would be too funny if at the end of the year you changed your blog tag! You crack me up! Awesome word!

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  2. I love this. It's seriously perfect. xo Also I can relate.

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  3. What a great word! I love that you have already planned to finish projects you haven't even started.

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  4. Love your word. It's perfect. I used to be such a good finisher, but having a child has distracted me from so many things.

    I want that candle! Is that cole slaw? Funny, we have been eating it the last few days too and I posted a picture of it. Great minds think alike. :)

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  5. ok, first of all, the photo of that meal?! it looks absolutely delicious - mmmm!! *drooling* ... and secondly, that word ... it's perfect - truly perfect. if i could stick to that word, it would surely change my life as well ... i swear half the time i feel like i either have add or dementia, i just cannot seem to finish a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. these last few years ... very frustrating, as i have the best intentions ... and surely pinterest has nothing to with it, right?! seriously, though, i would love to hear your strategies as you achieve success - lord knows, i could use 'em :)

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  6. Oh can I ever relate to this post! That is a great word for the year!

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  7. On a serious note, a friend from church lost her home in a house fire last summer and one of her regrets is all the half-finished projects that she never finished and gave to the people she intended them for. She is now finishing all her projects and it is a great joy to her. It really inspired me to look around and prioritize my projects so they get finished and out the door. It's been great!

    On a silly note, this was floating around Facebook and when I read your post it came to mind. Disclaimer:I'm not encouraging drinking alcohol/taking drugs-- I just thought this was funny.

    "I'm passing this on because it worked for me today. A doctor on TV said to have inner peace we should always finish things we start and we all could use more calm in our lives. I looked around my house to find things I'd started and hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiuminun scriptins, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss. An telum i luvum..."

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  8. I'm envious - I'm far too lazy to choose a word. Or, you know, to finish anything!

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  9. Here's to finishing! It's a good one.

    =)

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  10. Oh, oh, I probably shouldn't say this since you've written the words, " I think you are awesome sauce!" directly above the comment box. But I am thankful you did not choose the much over-used "awesome."

    Finish seems a good, positive word.

    The mid part of your post reminded me of those children's books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin.

    There, I'm FINISHED.

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  11. Dana, I can sooooo relate to this!! It drives Rod crazy! BUT there are some things on which I become so focused, that THAT drives him crazy, too.

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  12. Great word that I could do with adopting!

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  13. I like it!! I too, have many, many unfinished projects.

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  14. And you are off to a great start...with the plate and the blog post! Love all the words you mentioned. Now I'm finished with my comment.

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  15. AGH, we must be related somehow...I rarely PHINISH stuff myself:)

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  16. Finish is an excellent word! Maybe my word needs to be declutter. :) Then both of us would live in a clean, orderly beautiful world. :)

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  17. I enjoyed this post and it so applies to me! I have a lot of "unfinished" business and I absolutely need to tie up loose ends. Thanks for stopping by. xo

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  18. Great post. I'm a finisher in my brain but find it hard to actually do. I hate loose ends...they drive me crazy. The food photo is making me hungry so guess I'll finish this thought now. :)

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  19. Oh my, I need to adopt that word also! I try to finish one project before starting another, but sometimes my passion gets ahead of my patience!

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  20. LOVE IT!

    DID YOU GET MY MESSAGE THAT I CALLED?

    Michelle

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  21. Finish is a great word! I think to get to use that word I would first have to use the word 'winnow' and cull out all the stuff I do just because it's habit or I can't say 'no'. Then I suspect it would be wayyyyy easier to finish!

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  22. Dana,
    Love this post and your word. This has been an issue for me recently as well, hence the blog accountability on projects. Just FYI, I bought wheels for the boys' dresser today. Thanks for the idea. Now I'll finish that!

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  23. Great post for the letter "K"...

    It is so important to Know who we are and I LOVE the word finish...

    I always have such a great feeling when I finish a project...

    Thanks for linking.

    A+

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