So, it’s that time of the year where we focus on new beginnings and starting over. I used to write new year’s resolutions. I have kept some and totally missed the boat on others. A friend of mine, Sunny Schlenger, suggested new year’s intentions. Sunny is a professional organizer, flow coach and author. I know that it’s no coincidence that our lives crossed paths. In her article, Intentions vs. Resolutions, Sunny states that “intentions are desires that start at the feeling level.” She goes on to say: “They’re quests of our higher self that want to see us be happy, healthy and successful at the things we have a desire to do.” I love making lists, setting goals, etc. I have always felt sad, though, when I didn’t succeed with resolutions. I love Sunny’s suggestion of setting intentions because as she says, it allows for more flexibility in improving ones self.
Another suggestion of Sunny’s is to focus on a different word each year and build your vision board around it. I started using vision boards when I was studying for the bar exam many years ago. I felt overwhelmed with the task of studying from dawn ’til dusk every day for a month after just having completed 3 grueling years of law school. I read about creating a vision board in a magazine. I knew this would give me the focus that I needed to stay on course that summer. I found an old bulletin board and began cutting out pictures that matched what I envisioned the rest of my year to look like. I found pictures that portrayed the wedding, the job and other things that I wanted to happen in 2001. The bulletin board sat in the room where I studied that entire summer. When I felt discouraged, I would look up at the board and it helped me to re-focus. I have done them off and on since then. In her article, Your WORD and Vision Board, Sunny writes about how your word and vision boards can remind you daily of your focus for the year. My word last year was UNDEFEATED. 2013 was not a great year for me, personally or professionally. I finished the year feeling as though I had been through battle. So, I started off 2014 wanting to defeat those negative feelings and see myself as a stronger person. It worked. While I did end up having back surgery this year, which thwarted some of my exercise related goals for 2014, I was (in general) healthier and happier than I have been in a while. I feel as though I finished the year undefeated!
When it came time to think about my word for 2015, I was struggling. I had a hard time focusing on what I wanted to accomplish and focus on this year. My head has been swirling with all that is going on in my life and all that I want to happen. This is why Sunny’s article about intentions resonated with me. I began to meditate on where I felt called to focus my time and energy in 2015. Now, when I say meditate, please don’t picture me in some small, clean room sitting on a yoga mat in quiet solitude because I have 2 boys, 2 dogs, and a crazy schedule and I don’t have a single non-cluttered space in my house at the moment. I steal quiet moments each day, though. In those moments, the words rise, elevate and transcend began to float around in my head with the word “RISE” being the one that spoke to me the most. What’s so incredibly cool about this is that maybe a day after I had settled on RISE, my friend Sunny posted this picture on Facebook:
This is what I want to do in 2015. I have so many obligations and had begun recently to feel weighted down by them. I had lost track of the fact that at some point, I had willingly accepted all of those obligations. As corny as it may sound to some of you, I began to picture each of these obligations separately and envisioned myself rising up to greet each of them. I spent time thinking about each of them, Thyroid Mom, room mom, elder at church, work, etc. I reminded myself of why I was doing each thing, what had initially excited me about the obligation, and what I want to accomplish in each of those areas. I began thinking about my children and what I want to help them accomplish and how I want to keep helping them reach their fullest potential. There are negative voices and things that still occupy space in my head and I want to rise above them. I intend to re-focus myself on good health and have schedule my first post-surgery physical therapy session for this week. I want so desperately to get back into hiking and climbing. Ascent. Different versions of this thought of rising keep entering my mind. I am a night owl and I love sunsets, but thanks to my youngest child, I wake up early each morning. I have begun to appreciate sunrises much more. Every morning, I get up and walk to the window and open the curtains. I look at the sunrise and thank God for the day. I take a few deep breaths and then return to the chaos that is my bedroom with little boys running around and dogs barking. It’s my own rise and shine time.
Rise. Rise. Rise.
If you are still with me at this point, you may have begun to wonder what this has to do with thyroid health. It is my intention to continue writing, researching and sharing what I learn about thyroid disease with you and of course, our families personal experiences with thyroid disorders. It is my intention to continue to build a network of support for adults and children with thyroid disorders. You may have read my post about for Thyroid Change, if not read it here. It is my intention to continue to work towards all of those things for our children. I encourage you to set your own intentions and find your own word for 2015. I encourage you to make today the first day of your new journey towards better health. Read, listen, learn and share. We are all in this together. This is our year to RISE AND THRIVE!
By Blythe Clifford aka Thyroid Mom
