Half-way through the month of January already, and I am only now considering goal-setting for 2012. Like the title says, busy schedules can make prioritizing a little fuzzy at times. I read a simple idea for a New Year’s Resolution, passed along by missrepresentation.org, that is terrifically difficult to qualify.
Get healthy.
It is a great suggestion and should be a priority. But what are the terms by which to judge your success?
MissRepresentation.org (what I’ll call “MR”) is a “call-to-action campaign that seeks to empower women and girls to challenge limiting labels in order to realize their potential.” I love their concept and hope to follow that mission in my words and acts on a daily basis. MR’s challenge to “get healthy” does not center around unhealthy weight and physical ideals but “inner health and safety.”
A great suggestion is to keep physical appearance out of the center focus and concentrate more on how smart, confident and happy we are! How different our world, or even just the United States, would be if we celebrate more attributes of substance and not just attempts at physical perfection.
What a different view of being healthy. Developing our talents, or what is called “potential for greatness” in MR’s latest campaign, is quite a challenge. Naming even one talent is hard to do, as women are usually less likely to brag on themselves or even say they are good at something. We are socialized to deny compliments, much less compliment ourselves (*blush* for shame!).
I plan to spend the next week at least coming up with new and inventive ways to help boost my friends’ confidence. Paying it forward, if you will. My good luck in life has brought me so many creative, dynamic, self-confident (if not self-effacing) women who deserve praise. Their selfless acts in both their professional and personal lives help other people every day, most of which goes unrecognized.
At the risk of too much self-congratulation, I dare to say my talent I hope to nurture is writing. I want to keep doing so in this new year, honing my craft being the main goal and exorcising demons along the way a great add-on. Other healthy practices include continuing yoga for the inner balance I seek and expressing my love of my son and family throughout the journey.
While results are perhaps difficult to measure, success is felt within, and I have great hopes for 2012!
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