Values for 2013

June is the middle of the year - not a bad time to evaluate what a year is about.  Normally I shy away from New Year resolutions - because I don't have a good success rate with them - or with most goals in general.  Near the beginning of this year, I heard someone* talking about choosing a value for the year rather than setting goals.  I liked the idea a lot, but I couldn't pick just one.  Yah, I've never been good at narrowing my focus, which just might maybe relate to my failure at finishing goals.

But I did come up with a little list of things that I wanted to value for 2013 - and I got especially geeked when they lined themselves up rather alliteratively.

I value these things for 2013:

• Writing
• Wellness
• Wideness
• Wisdom
• Wonder
  
  

Obviously these are not the only things that I value, but these are the ones that I selected to focus on, to work on or improve or increase.  I chose not to restrict nor define them, but simply to list one word for each and to "keep them in mind" through the year - whatever that would mean.  Each item on my list has special significance for me - increasingly so as the year goes along.

Writing is the one that is most about activity and accomplishment, but it is also about my identity.  I am beginning to think of myself as a writer and to think of writing as my work.  No longer do I feel guilty for spending too much time doing the things that make up my writing work.  To the contrary, I choose to value my writing work and to make time for it in my calendar.

Wellness speaks to me of awareness and attitude and action.  Rather than thinking about what I should or shouldn't do, I want to value wellness in my choices about activity, food, rest, stress, and healthy boundaries and in the priorities in my schedule.

Wideness takes me back to an old hymn from my childhood: There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea.  I want my mercy and compassion and kindness to be broad rather than tight and narrow and judgmental and restrictive and I hope that my world keeps growing ever wider with people who are different from me.

Wisdom is something that I have long wished to attain and have tried to pursue.  I really, really want to be wise in my own personal decisions as well as in my treatment of other people.

Wonder beckons me in recent years.  I want to thrill in the wonder and awe of this life and this world.  I also choose to value the exercise of wondering about things that I struggle to understand - things from how the solar system works to how a soft answer can possibly turn away wrath.  Hence the name of my blog.

...

So how am I doing?
Since my purpose was simply to value these things, it seems that I have been rather successful.  I keep the list where I can see it regularly and I often think about these things when making choices about what to think or how to spend my time.  I can say for sure that my appreciation for these items continues to increase - which might be an indication of success.  In fact, I find myself thinking that they may be a good list to keep for life.

...

Some people write a personal mission statement. I have often wanted to have one, but have not yet succeeded in getting it together.  Other people choose a life verse or some kind of motto they live by.  And yes, lots of people set goals and actually complete them.

Please leave a comment about what works for you.
What do you value?

...

* Credit for this idea goes to James Prescott, a fellow student in the Tribe Writers' course I've been taking.  When I wrote the above post, I could not remember where I had heard the idea, but came across it in some notes today.  Read his post about it here.  Thanks, James; the idea has been valuable to me.