If you’ve read any of my other posts regarding goal setting, you know that I don’t believe in setting New Year’s resolutions. I believe that resolutions focus too much of our attention upon problems that need to be resolved. Instead, I am a firm believer in setting positive intentions for our year and setting strategic goals to help us realize those intentions.

Lately though, I’ve heard a lot of buzz about about selecting a single word to represent your year. At first I thought that there was no way I could possibly pick just one single word to encapsulate all of my hopes and aspirations for the entire year–they are just too many and too varied. After giving it some more thought, however; I did settle on a word that felt right for me. One caveat though–even though I have chosen a single word to by my word for the year; I’m cheating a bit because I’m using the letters in the word to more fully represent my intentions for 2016. My word is SAVOR and here is what the word represents to me…

The S in savor stands for Seek out new opportunities. This is something that I am committed to doing a lot of in 2016. I don’t want to spend my year playing small. I want to find opportunities for growth in my career, my relationships, my physical well-being and my spiritual development. If I can’t find new opportunities–I will do my best to make them.

The A in savor stands for Accept challenges. I am not naive enough to think that the things that I want in life will come easily. I know that they won’t. I want big things and with big things comes big challenges. Fortunately, I’ve already overcome some pretty significant challenges in my life (dangerous eating disorder, emotionally–and sometimes physically–abusive marriage, raising two little boys on my own without any financial support from their father etc.) and from these challenges I have learned that the greater the challenge, the greater the reward. I intend to use this knowledge to help keep myself mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for any challenges that might come my way. I want to do my best to anticipate the challenges on the horizon so that I might better prepare for them but I also want to be confident enough in my own resiliency to know that I can handle any unforeseen challenges that might arise. Certainly I will be thankful for any blessings and opportunities that effortlessly fall into my lap, but I know that I will have an even greater appreciation for the rewards that are gained through applied effort and persistence.

The V in savor stands for Vanish negativity. I do not have time for negativity in my life. Period. If you want to gripe and complain–go do it to someone else. It has taken me a while, but I have finally come to understand the importance of protecting my sanity by limiting the amount of negativity that I am exposed to. I don’t watch the evening news (and yet, I still always manage to learn of any truly important happenings) because of the way it sensationalizes murder and mayhem. I also refuse to spend time with people who drag me down emotionally and energetically. This no-tolerance negativity policy is especially important to me when it comes to my big goals in life. Only a select few people truly know the aspirations that I have for my life. This is because I am protecting those precious and fragile aspirations from anyone who might be compelled to question, doubt or criticize–even if they swear that they are only doing so for “my own good”.  The hopes and dreams that I have for my life are far too important to me to allow any bit of negativity come near them.

The O in savor stands for Offer Hope. I’ve been through some pretty crappy things in my life but I’ve also experienced the immense joy that comes from overcoming those things. My life is nowhere near perfect but it is a WHOLE LOT better than it used to be. I feel so blessed to now be in a position that allows me to offer a sliver of hope to others who might be struggling. I know what it is like to be physically sick, emotionally wrecked, financially broke and spiritually bankrupt. I’ve been there. I’ve experienced the pain, felt the shame and wrestled with the overwhelm. I know that life can suck sometimes. On the flip side however; I also know what it is like to be physically healthy, emotionally thriving, financially secure and spiritually blessed. My transition from one state to the other wasn’t easy–but it was possible, and if it was possible for me it can be possible for anyone. In the coming year, I want to be able to use my experiences as a vehicle for offering hope and encouragement to others who may find themselves in a difficult situation. By turning my mess into a message, I want others to feel that they too have hope and can move their life from drab to FAB.

The R in savor stands for Relish the good times. We’ve all heard the old adage “take time to smell the roses” but how many of us actually do it? Taking the time to relish the good and lovely moments in life is what savoring is all about. Unfortunately, this relishing is not something that comes naturally to me so it is something that I have to consciously work at. I tend, by nature, to be a striver which is good in many respects. However; in my constant striving for the next best thing, I often miss out on the amazing things that are happening right under my nose. This was made especially clear to me on a recent hike that my husband and I made to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs, CO (click here to read about the lessons that I learned on that hike–other than to not take a husband with bad knees on a steep and challenging hike–it’ll just make him grouchy!) I don’t want to miss out on these precious, and often, fleeting moments though so I am making 2016 the year that I really make an effort to soak up and relish the wonder that is all around me as I continue to strive for my most FabYOUlous life.

I realize that taking one word and stretching it out over five points in five paragraphs, probably isn’t what the person who first came up with the “word of the year” concept had in mind–but this is what works for me so this is what I’m going with for 2016. By Seeking, Accepting, Vanishing, Offering and Relishing, I know that I will find many, many FabYOUlous moments in 2016 to savor. What word would you choose to encapsulate your year? Feel free to cheat like I did if you need to