I just love the promise that a new year holds and while I have made (and broken!) countless New Year’s Resolutions, during the past couple of years I have focused more on purposefully directing my steps and on making “resolutions” less. Ann Voskamp shared a beautiful worksheet on FB recently that helped set the framework for my new year.
On January 1st, with Ann’s printed worksheets in hand, my husband Simon and I headed to Big Shucks for a lunch date, just the two of us. Over diet sodas, Simon and I got to work, separately jotting down the direction we desired to point our feet in this promising new year. Afterward (which admittedly took longer than we’d anticipated), we ordered our lunch and over the next 45 minutes or so, ate & shared the fruits of our labor. How encouraging it was to see that some of the areas we desired to grow individually in 2016 crossed paths and that others we wholeheartedly encouraged in the other!
One that I wrote down individually was that I purposed to embrace living outside of my comfort zone in 2016. Yesterday provided the first opportunity to act upon what I had purposed to do. I received a text in the morning from family friends needing our help that very night. I confess, my first (inward) response was a solid “no, but thank you for thinking of us.” I was looking forward to enjoying a pajama day, so I already had big plans for the day as far as I was concerned. Long story short, after briefly discussing it with Simon, we agreed this was a worthy first step outside of my comfort zone. I texted my friend to count us in and nine hours later we ditched the pajamas and engaged the residents at a local assisted living facility over BINGO! alongside a couple of our children & our sweet friends. And I am so glad we did.
How willing are you to embrace stepping outside of your comfort zone this year? Seizing opportunities (especially the uncomfortable ones!) can turn the ordinary days into the extraordinary, which is a great first step in making memories meaningful for both yourself and those with whom you share life.
Your text touched my heart. Thanks for sharing Ericka!
Thanks for reading. And thanks for sharing your thoughts, Keli. May you share many happy memories with your family in 2016.
This message is truly inspiring as 2016 is already proving to be new and exciting. From new job to new love, I can’t wait to be outside my comfort zone.
I wish I could say I experienced your enthusiasm last night! Mine was more of a reluctant “toe inside” my discomfort zone with the expectant hope that once on the other side of it, I would be heartily glad I took a walk on the wild side. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened! Here’s to meaningful memory-making in 2016 for both of us.