My 2018 Focus Word

"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."
The Talmud on Micah 6:8

Most days my life feels narrowed down in the best possible way. My year of simple helped me focus my time and energy on what I value, and I want to keep that focus. An area I need to work on to do this is perseverance.

I found the above quote in the introduction of a fiction book I read titled "Tell Me How This Ends Well". It struck me instantly, and I knew perseverance needed to be my 2018 focus word. Knowing what I want to focus on, I now need to do what I want to do daily, to continue to grow my discipline, to keep faith in my practices even when I can't see the end.

This year has been full, and I have accomplished a lot of things that I'm proud of.  However, I feel like 2017 was about reducing, healing, and resting.  That's what I needed.  I was over halfway through the year before I found out that my inability to build physical stamina, sleep restfully, fight anxiety, or focus was due to an adrenal gland issue that wasn't going to fix itself.

Luckily, I'm  in a much better place, and now I want to push myself out of the comfort zone in areas of life that matter to me.  Of course, after doing this I will come home and hygge like a boss, but I need that extra push, that good kind of pain, that nervous-but-doing-it-anyway feeling in my life again.  I miss it.

I chose a 2018 planner with built in time blocking to maximize every  minute, 

for productivity and pleasure.

The areas I want to persevere in fit well with Gretchen Rubin's "Essential Seven".  In fact, most people will find that the "Essential Seven" nicely encompass the areas most of want to see progress in.

I want to seek God, hunger for Him, do His work, participate in activities that help bring His kingdom come and provide support for those in need.

I want to be present for my people, fully living out life where I am.

I want to steward what we've been given in a responsible way.

I want to finish my novel and pursue writing whatever interests me.

I want less clutter.

I want to be healthy, eating, sleeping, and moving with purpose.

I want to say thank you often, listen more, and meditate.

I want to read all the books.

These are the areas where I will persevere, pushing through without giving up until I see progress.  Then I will set a new goal and keep pushing.

I will blog about this journey just like I did about my simple goals.  I'm expecting this to be challenging but fulfilling, so bring it on 2018.