My Word for 2018

It’s nearly the middle of January and I'm still here posting about what I want out of 2018. Still looking forward w/ hope and that bright shiny newness. Other bloggers have moved on to actual strategy and how they're reaching their goals, but I'm still ruminating on mine. Bear w/ me. 

I love the idea of picking a word for the new year and tying that into your resolutions or your actions. There are multiple areas I hope to improve in this year, and one word kept coming back to me. My word for 2018?

Mindful.

I want to be more mindful. I want to live mindfully (that’s a word, right?) 

One of my resolutions was to work out at least five times a week. A little ambitious, maybe, but I’m finally finally starting to lose some of the 15 10 pounds I put on after our wedding three years ago and I’d like to keep this momentum going. Being mindful about my workouts goes hand in hand w/ self improvement and overall health, which is even more important now that I’m no longer in my 20’s (wahhhh).

Mindful eating is something I’ve always struggled with; it’s one thing to say I’ll be mindful about my eating, but it’s another thing to practice that when I open the pantry and see bags of chocolate leftover from the holidays calling my name. I can ask myself “does this really align w/ your word of the year?” before every bite, but when I’m hangry, the answer will be “cut that hippie shit out and eat the damn cookie” every time. At least I won’t have to worry about that for another few weeks, since I cut out added sugars for January. 

The goal is to apply this to most areas of my life. One of my resolutions was less television. When I think about all the times I've come home from work, flopped on the couch and mindlessly watched TV, I’m disgusted (mostly b/c of the food I’d be shoveling into my mouth during that time). I enjoy TV as a “distraction” from daily life, but I also really like reading and writing, and these are hobbies I’d rather spend my time on. 

Social media in general is something I’d like to cut down on. I’m not on facebook often, but when I do login, I go down the rabbit hole of seeing how Vanessa from high school is a crazy conservative and shoving everyone’s face in it, or that strange girl from college is peddling tshirts on etsy. I don’t post all that much on Instagram, but I open it up at least ten times a day and scroll through mindlessly.

Mindless eating/scrolling/watching is exactly what my word of 2018 is aimed at. No more shoveling food into my mouth, browsing Instagram w/ no real reason, wasting hours staring at the television. 

I may do all these things in 2018, but I’ll be doing them mindful AF.