Not Really A Resolution

I have made it a practice to not make resolutions. I think it's just setting yourself up for failure. I will do this. I will do that. I will not do the other thing. It starts out so very promising and exciting. But then the enthusiasm flags and the resolutions get pushed farther and farther back in the day to day workings of life. So I just don't do it. Oh, I think about things I'd like to do or change, but I don't make promises. Yet, I'm left with the nagging feeling that I should do something more concrete. Something to hang on to for the year. And then, I read this:

http://www.embowman.com/2012/one-word-for-2012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EMBowman+%28E.M.+Bowman%29

What a brilliant idea! No lists of things to do or not do. No broken promises to myself. No real failure, as such. One word. One word to direct or nudge, rather than push and shove. But what word? There are so many that coud apply. Big, grand words like Ambition or Discipline. Small, private words like Dream and Strength. But nothing felt right. Until this blog post:

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/12/my-new-year-wish.html

And there it was. My word for the year:

Mistakes

Why Mistakes? Because I've been guilty of allowing fear of making mistakes stop me from doing things I wanted to do. A lot. And I don't just mean mistakes as in errors, but mistakes as in not being "good enough" or "talented enough." I've shied away from doing things because I might make a mistake. But aren't we always told that we learn more from our mistakes than from our triumphs? If we never let ourselves make a mistake, we'll never have the chance to experience somethng new, something different, something that may be magical. So, watch out, World, there are gonna be a lot of mistakes this year. And that is perfectly all right with me.

So, thank you, Ms. Bowman and Mr. Gaiman. You've inspired me to find a Not A Resolution this year.