Arise: A Word for 2019
The sunset over Steamboat Rock
It’s the start of a new year. For me, each new year begins with some review of the previous year and introspection into my own heart to help me craft a way into the future. Sometimes an honest review of the previous year can leave me feeling disappointed. I had hoped to accomplish more. I had hoped to be healthier. I had hoped to experience more.
But starting a new year feeling disappointed is no way to turn over the calendar. It can set me up for failure right away if I allow that thinking to affect how I create new goals. It’s hard to start out a new year already ticked at yourself when you know it’s time to kick the next year’s butt. So, this year I have approached my review, introspection, and goal setting differently.
I made a list of all I did indeed accomplish this year. I inventoried all the actions I had taken to heal myself. I documented all the experiences my husband and I shared and how we had grown. I realized I was being too hard on myself but that I still had more work to do. Then I used that information to select a word to motivate me to reach my goals for 2019.
My word for 2019 is “arise.”
I chose a verb very purposefully. So many adjectives would have fit the bill, but I needed an action word.
Of course, “arise” may conjure up memories of Easter Sunday sermons, but I did not intend for the word to feel biblical. It means to emerge, to become apparent, to come to light. It also literally means to stand up or get up.
2019 will be the year when H Squared Communications emerges as the expert in communications consulting in the state. That’s the vision I have for this year. Arise!
2019 will be the year when the niche services H Squared Communications can help fill, the solutions we can provide, become more and more apparent. Arise!
2019 will be the year when some areas of my life that currently feel disguised with shadow come into light. Arise!
Arise! I will say to myself on the days when all I want to do is binge watch Netflix.
Arise! I will say to myself when it would be so much easier to just roll over and hide my head under the covers.
Arise! I will say to myself when the day’s workout feels like it should wait until after one more cup of coffee.
Arise! I will say to myself when I am the only woman in the room but am indeed the one with the most knowledge on the subject.
Arise! I will say to myself when it would be easy to join the fray of those going low when the dignified response is to go high.
Arise!
2019 will be the year the rubber meets the road in a lot of ways for my career and for how I chart the course for this business. I also will turn 40 this year. In June, my husband and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage. Other milestone birthdays in my family and circle of friends are scattered across the calendar. It’s a big year.
That can feel daunting. But when it’s hard, or overwhelming, or confusing, I will just do the next right thing. I will tell myself it’s time to get up. It’s time to emerge. It’s time to let the light discover the good. Staying in the dark isn’t for me. Arise.