Mental Post-Its

Thoughts, Notes, and General Mental Mayhem

Tag Archives: living intentionally


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My Birthday Wish

sandrachile-686986-unsplashI don’t just celebrate my birthday, I celebrate my birth month. And this year, I’d like everyone to join in the fun!

Rather than gifts or online fundraisers (which are great, by the way), I’ve decided to celebrate the simple things in life that make it truly worth living: kindness, generosity, decency, love, connection, and all around do-gooding. It just feels like so much of this is missing from society right now, and I’d love for you to help me shine a spotlight on something more hopeful.

You’ve heard of random acts of kindness, but I’m challenging you to intentional acts of kindness.

Seek it out.
Plan on it.
Make it happen.

Your gesture doesn’t have to be big to count. There are a million little decisions you can make differently every day. Or you can create a moment to remember forever.

– Open a door for a stranger.
– Look a homeless person in the eye and smile.
– Buy someone coffee.
– Let someone cut in front of you.
– Donate to a charity.
– Babysit for a single parent.
– Volunteer your time with a nonprofit.

You decide. Just find a way to be kind. (But if you want to go big, I won’t stop you!)

What you do is totally up to you. All I ask is that you record it here for me (and everyone else) to see.

This isn’t about bragging. This is about being reminded that there is more good happening than bad, that one person can make a difference, and that one simple act matters.

Because here’s the thing: I believe generosity is contagious. So, what if you and I started something that spread? Even if it just spread to one other person, wouldn’t that be worth it? I think so.

So, what do you say? Will you join me in spreading some kindness?

If so, here are the rules:
1. No act of kindness is too big or too small.
2. You’ll record your act here for us to see.
3. You can share this event or invite anyone to participate
4. You can do one act or many.
5. You get bonus points if it’s face-to-face with another human.

Let’s (purposefully) do some good.

Would you like to join me in this challenge? If so, participate on Facebook!

PS: Facebook only let me extend the event for 14 days, and it expires on Sunday. But I’m challenging myself to do this every day in September to celebrate my birth month. I’ve even set up a reminder on my phone. Any fellow over-achievers are welcome to do the same! And if you see this after the Facebook event ends, you can post your intentional act of kindness in the comments!

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My Word for 2017

vertical-logo-w-taglinelargeThis year’s word was easy, peasy! I saw it coming from miles—actually, months—away, and I’ve been very excited to share it with you. But it took way more prep work than usual.

The word, you ask? SIGNIFY.

And that is because it’s my new business name! If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may remember that I left my full-time job last May to start my own company. Now, I serve cause-focused organizations through writing, consulting and strategy. I want to help these purpose-driven companies improve their marketing and business communications so they can focus and shine. And I especially love helping small businesses get noticed and grow. You can read more about the background of my business here.

Since I’ve been practicing a word for the year tradition for a number of years, I used the same criteria to choose my business name: I like single words with multiple meanings in the form of a verb. It took me several months to figure out my organization’s name, but I’m very happy with it. And the website just launched yesterday, which is the prep work I mentioned. It’s been quite the adventure so far, and I’m sure that will continue!

So, basically, even though I had this business the latter half of 2016, this means that 2017 will be focused on getting this business off the ground and running. I have been very blessed to have spent the first seven months working for friends, and that sustained me. But I knew that wasn’t realistic for the long-haul, so that meant building a website and all the bells and whistles that came with it.

My verse for the year is one I hold very near to my heart. It’s one that continues to inspire me, has influenced my business, and especially seems like a good motto to live by these days.

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

There you go! That’s it. My word for the year. As always, I can’t wait to see what the year has in store, and how I’ll view it through the lens of SIGNIFY.

You can read about last year’s word, RENEW, right here, if you’d like.

Did you choose a word for 2017? If so, I’d love to hear it!

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If you’re new to this whole word for the year thing, it is basically a way to take a proactive stance to the year. Instead of just arriving in December and taking stock of what happened, having a word of the year is a way to be proactive. We all have goals, wishes and hopes for our year, and sometimes those happen, and sometimes life gets in the way. Having a word for the year helps me to be intentional with my days and my time, and sometimes it also helps me make decisions that help to define outcomes. It’s a practice that some of my friends and I have done for probably almost 10 years now, and it is always a highlight of my year, especially when we’re able to discuss them together.

If you haven’t done this before, and want a little more guidance, here are a couple of resources to help you out:

One Word That Will Change Your Life

My One Word

Wishing you a joyful and productive 2017!

 

(Amazon links are affiliate links.)


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2013: The Halfway Point

simplify

Ok, so it’s technically it’s a little past the halfway point of 2013, but I should get credit for the update anyway.

For those of you following along at home, you’ll remember that my word for the year was SIMPLIFY. Just in case you’ve recently started reading, you can read all about it right here. The gist of having a word for the year is that you use a theme to look forward at the year, thinking about what you want it to be. This is the reverse of looking back at the year to see what happened. It’s a more proactive approach. My decision to use the word SIMPLIFY was to have a cleansing effect on me in several different ways. I want to live more simply. I have more than I need. I have more things and thoughts to occupy my time than I feel like I should, from items in my home to emails in my inbox to preoccupations and more.

A few of the items I originally listed include getting rid of things in my home, removing myself from email lists, working on my budget and paying down debt.

Some of the things I’ve done so far this year are:

  • Reinforcing the concepts through books, articles and conversations.
  • Donating and selling things in my house.
  • Getting off some email lists.
  • Paying down some debt.
  • Taking a look or two or three at my budget.
  • Not committing to events or people I didn’t feel would be best for me at this time.
  • Using eMeals.com to prepare meals.
  • Following a chronological Bible reading list.
  • Focusing on only a couple of volunteer activities.

Honestly, these are still all ongoing. I can still make improvements during 2013, and intend to. It may seem like a pretty good list, but some items are further along than others. None are probably as far along as I’d like them to be, but they are in a much better place than they were seven months ago and that’s important to remember.

I definitely need to listen to my theme song and read by theme verse more throughout the year. They’ll help keep me motivated. But I am proud to say I have done a little hell-gate prevailing, though again, there’s still much more to be done. And that’s the really fun stuff. 😉

So, there you go. I’m checking in, and keeping accountable right here. And I’ll definitely let you know how this year shaped up in a few more months. Fingers crossed, I’ll be able to report more progress. Scratch that: I WILL be able to report more progress!

If you’re doing something similar, please let me know how your 2013 is going. I’d love to hear!