The new year (and decade) is here and I’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting and thinking about how 2019 and the last decade went in my life. Like with anything in life, it was filled with ups and downs. There were major life changes including graduations, new jobs, big moves, marriage, and having kids. To say that my life is different now would be an understatement.

2019 Reflection

While looking back on the previous year (and decade), I came to a realization. I spend a lot of time stressed about nothing. I seem to find ways to stress over the strangest things and when I stress, I shut down on some level and quit moving forward. I’m not sure when this shift happened because I wasn’t like this in high school or college. (We won’t talk about how long ago that was.)

After realizing this about myself, I came to a decision. In 2020, I’m going to stress less and play more. Instead of trying to do what works for everyone else, I’m going to get back to the basics and start having fun. This applies to everything – motherhood, blogging, my marriage, and so on. I’m going to start doing what feels natural and what makes me smile.

So, this year, I’m not setting any big goals that I inevitably won’t reach. Instead, I’m living in concepts and words. I’ll be blogging more about the concepts in a future post, but for now, I want to focus on the word I’ve chosen.

My Word for 2020

I’m a firm believer that your word for each year comes to you. I don’t go searching lists or hunting down ideas. I simply start paying attention to words sometime in December. Eventually, one will stand out in some way and that becomes my word for the year.

My word for 2019 was JOY and I’m a bit disappointed to say that I didn’t always embody my word. I’m sure some may say otherwise but there were plenty of times where I just couldn’t find joy in the moments. However, by the end of the year, I had learned to change my perspective a lot. Maybe that’s what JOY was guiding me towards.

This year’s word just seems so perfect for my life right now. I can’t tell you exactly how it came to me because I don’t remember. All I know is that once it showed up, I couldn’t let it go. This year, my word is PLAYFUL.

I know, I know. It’s not a word you hear often when people are talking about their one little word. You typically here empowering and intentional words that will lead people to great things. The chosen words are often filled with goal oriented vibes and attempts to find happiness. Let’s be honest though – what better way to find happiness than by being playful?

Blog Changes

I’ll be sharing more on my one little word and how it’s showing up in my life throughout the year. My plan is to do more check ins than I have in the past. I used to check in on my goals and ambitions once a month and it was quite motivating.

With this move towards playfulness, I’ll be making some changes to my blog and social media account. Nothing too drastic – I’m just going to make them reflect who I am right now, which is a stay at home mom navigating her way through the blogging world. I do hope you’ll stick around and join me on this adventure in 2020!

Until then, go out and enjoy the world! After all, there is fun and memories to be found in the moments!

Find out which new word I've chosen for 2020. Hint: It's not one you hear often!