My word for 2011

[ZippaDee]

I posted this on my Daily Check In thread, but thought I'd share it here too. These thoughts have been some important thoughts for me over the past 2 1/2 months. I hope some others may benefit from them too. Happy New Year everyone!

I've recently come across the idea that in place of New Year's Resolutions a more subtle gentle approach is coming up with a word of intent for the coming year. Yes, a single word. I really like this idea and have decided to give it a whirl. After much thought and contemplation I have decided upon the word EASE for my word of 2011.

The No S Diet has been a major factor in choosing this word for myself. I've learned so much in the past 2 1/2 months since beginning this journey on the No S Diet. I'm having success. I'm experiencing change naturally and without a lot of pain and agony as has been my experience in the past.


This is a picture of a Chinese finger trap. The harder you pull and pull the more trapped your fingers become. In order for your fingers to be released you must EASE up on the pressure.

This has been true of my life in the realm of dieting. For YEARS I have been trying too hard. I've been hyper focused on the weight. I've been making too many rules for myself to the point where I am frustrated and trapped and unable to move forward. I've been making this too difficult. I've been stuck. All it takes is common sense. I need to EASE up on myself and just BE.

I can apply this to so many other areas of my life as well....parenting, finances, my spirituality. The list could go on and on.

In my quest of researching this and learning about this I have discovered that phychologists actually have a name for this. It's called the paradoxical theory of change. MY uneducated understanding of this and how I am applying this to MY life right now is that in order to truly change I need to stop trying so hard to change. I need to accept where I'm at right NOW! I can't move forward and change until I am ok with where I currently am now. I will continue spinning my wheels so to speak, which is exactly what I've been doing for years. I count calories and deprive myself in a quest to lose weight because I hate the way my body looks. Instead I need to love myself where I am at first...exactly as I am. When I do that I will naturally take care of my body that I love and change will occur naturally and with EASE!

So, thus my word for 2011 EASE!

[kccc]

I love your choice. What a great word!

I'm also doing a one-word resolution too- just ran across it this year, and really like it, even though I normally do "habits of the month" instead of New Year's resolutions. (In fact, I like the idea so much that I posted some links about the idea in the OT forum.)

I've been thinking about it a lot since I ran across the idea, trying different words, until I finally settled on OPEN. This year will hold a lot of changes for me and my family, and I tend to fall into "overwhelm" and shut down when things get to be too much for me. But this change is a time for possibilities, choices...an opportunity. So, I want to be OPEN to ideas, possibilities, choices, opportunities. And to other people's perspectives, and to... the list goes on.

And, like EASE, it applies to other areas of my life. Open to grace. Open my hand (in generosity), my heart (in kindness). So many areas where it works to remind me to be who I intend to be.

[Starla]

I really like this idea. I wasn't going to make a New Year's resolution, but I WILL choose my word for 2011, and that word is COMMIT.

I whined about not being motivated on my check-in thread, and Bright Angel pointed out that No S isn't really about motivation; it's about commitment. That's exactly what I needed to hear. I tend to be fairly adept at avoiding commitment, and that's not always a good thing. For 2011, once I decide to do something, I'm going to COMMIT to doing it and approaching it wholeheartedly instead of half-assedly.

[BeingGreen]

Excellent thread. My word for 2011 will be Patience. I resolve to have more patience with myself, my body, my husband, my kids, my friends and my mother

Happy New Year to all!

[ZippaDee]

KCCC...Love the word "open"! Great choice! May 2011 be a beautiful year for you. Open with opportunity, Open with endless possibilites, Open with many wonderful choices!

Your presense here on the boards is so calming. When KCCC speaks I want to listen.

What is the OT forum?? Don't want to miss anything good.

Hey Starla! Your success has been a big inspiration for me. Your success story was the first one I read when I started back in Oct. Commit is an awesome word too! And as you point out...not the same as motivation at all. When we commit to something we JUST DO IT...no matter what! If we wait around til the motivation strikes us......well, that may never happen! You choosing this word is a good reminder to me too that this is a process that takes TIME.....and re-commitment. Go Starla! Thank you so much for sharing your journey here. You have truly inspired me.

OlderandWiser....Patience is a good word too! And, I just read some posts from you about S Days feeling wild. Patience is a good word for you right NOW...TODAY!! Be patient with yourself! It WILL get easier with time! YOU CAN DO THIS! I have often heard though not to pray for patience because then you will have plenty of opportunity to practice it. Happy New Year to you! ........chuckling at your mother comment too. Hee hee!

[kccc]

Thanks, ZippaDee.

Here's the link to the post I made, which has other links out:
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6970

The OT thread is near the bottom of the Everyday Systems forum index page. Not a lot of traffic, but some good stuff.

[Kapluska]

Thank you for the idea.
My word for 2011 would be GROW.
My troubles sticking to NoS just confirmed to me that inside, I am about 3 years old. In reality I don´t want to be in control, deny myself any pleasures, I feel like rolling on the floor, kicking and screaming if I have to behave "moderately" - sounds so adult - I hate it.
Thank you really. I came to realize a lot on these boards.
NoS is a great tool for GROWING and a good tester of one´s real mental age.

[Eileen7316]

My word for 2011 is CONSISTENCY. I don't have to be perfect, but I need to be consistent in my efforts.

I hope to apply this principle to various areas in my life... I need more consistency with exercise, bible study, eating right, cleaning my home, etc.

Happy New Year!

[flutterby7]

I dont' normally do resolutions, but this year I decided the one thing I wanted to improve about myself was my generosity. so my One word resoltuion was Give. (actually, when I blogged about it , it was Give More) but still. I want to give more to charity, give more time to my kids and give more of myself. I think I will feel better about myself and hopefully others will benefit from it as well

[funfuture]

I love this idea too and have been wondering about what word to pick. I've been tossing up between "healthy" (because I really do need to focus on my health this year and make it a priority. I've been hobbled by pain in my hips and neck, particularly. I'm overweight and unfit and not getting any younger...) and "creativity" because I'm dropping some admin work this year and really want to get some creative work done while I have the opportunity. One of my issues with the latter is that I have a bit of a mental block about creative work and being published. I've been tossing the two words around and have come up with a third one which is resonating well with me - "painless". That works for me on a number of levels - I want to finish 2011 in a pain-free, healthy body. Focussing on that word might help me to remove my mental blocks about exercise or good eating habits being difficult. If I bring the concept of "painless" to developing new habits then I'm approaching it with a much better attitude. Generally dropping the idea that things have to be difficult or a struggle would be really useful. It's also a concept I can bring to my work generally (which has been very fraught with industrial action and other problems this year) - to my relationships at work, to my teaching, research and writing. It's something I could bring to life generally. It would also benefit our family life - focussing on ease and fun and in my extended family, not buying into painful agendas from the past. This year will bring a lot of change for my immediate family - good and bad - but approaching those changes with the idea that they can be "painless" will help, I think, to realise that adjustments to change are just that - adjustments - and how we react to them is very much up to us. It may help me also help those closest to me through some difficult changes that are likely to come up in the next few months.

So there you go, I think "painless" will be a useful concept for me this year.