I tried to post this yesterday but my website was down. Now it's up. So subscribers, please forgive the duplicate email. Just consider it a reminder :-)

It's that time of year again.... the last day of the old and precipice of the new. December 31 is bittersweet with anticipation of what's to come tinged with a little bit of sadness in leaving a year behind, never to have the time back again. I've had both the bitter and the sweet this year and have grown to be a better person one moment at a time because of both.

Life coaching has steered me away from this blog but I am still here plugging away at the journey of being mom to adults while also reinventing myself. I am learning a lot in my coach training program that I plan to share with the autism world. Many of the concepts and tools are an expansion of the attitude I've been cultivating and writing about for a long time. I'm very excited about the possibility of directly helping others with my new coaching skills.

Once again, I am sharing the concept of ONE WORD as an intention for the New Year. The response to this the last three years has been very positive and inspiring. I hope your word was helpful to you if you had one. My word, challenge, was definitely a fun, and yes, "challenging", learning experience for me. I was perfectly imperfect at most of the monthly challenges I set up for myself. Then, in the summer life threw me so many challenges, I could not handle any more. When things calmed down I found it difficult to get back on track for a few months. I struggled with my commitment (or lack of) until December. I ended the year with a bang. See "Loving December" on Pinterest.

Many people are thinking about or writing New Year's Resolutions. Personally, I prefer the "intention" vs the "resolution". Resolution is "the action of solving", therefore resolutions tend to focus on problems in our lives that need to be solved. Typically, what is wrong with us, and how can we fix ourselves. They usually don't lead to lasting changes and are often quickly abandoned.

Intention is "the determination to act in a certain way". Intentions are about becoming aware of different ways that you would prefer to be in your life.

Recently, someone introduced me to the idea of ONE WORD intentions. She told me she had picked "less" for herself last year. Less weight, less worrying, less rushing... you get the idea.

I really like the idea of one word. Clean and simple, and potentially very powerful. I just found a great explanation on Christine Kane's blog.

"The reason most resolutions don't work is that they address only one level of your life. The DO level. It's the DO-HAVE-BE model. "I will DO this thing." (i.e., Lose weight) "So I can HAVE this other thing" (Self-Esteem) and I can BE this thing. (Confident.)

The average New Year's Resolution doesn't address the core of the issue - the "BE" level.

The best order for creating positive changes in your life is the BE-DO-HAVE model. This means you start from the BE level. When you begin changing on the BE level of your life, then the DO level and the HAVE level follow more easily.

When you start only on the DO level, then all the blocks on the BE level will often become the obstacles you can't overcome.

Several years ago, my friend and I decided that, instead of making resolutions, we would pick a word that would guide us throughout the year. It would be our touchstone. It would remind us of living our lives at the BE level.

This didn't mean that we didn't take action. It meant that our actions were inspired from the BE level. In fact, I took more action than ever with this new approach!"

BE, DO, HAVE. I really like that!

I invite you to get quiet over the next few days, go within, and pick a word for the year. Just one word. That's all. Then, hold that word in your mind throughout the year, and let your word guide you to take action. What a powerful New Year's ritual!

My word for 2014? DARE. Dare has an edginess to it that I am drawn to this year. Dare is about living fully, living mindfully, vs coasting mindlessly through life. Dare is about realizing the clock is always ticking and it is time to take a chance and be willing to step out of my circle of comfort. Dare includes challenges, doing new things, asking more questions, and creating new habits that make life even richer.

Can you tell that I am excited about DARE?

What's YOUR word going to be this year? Please let me know if you have chosen one. You inspire me.

Farewell 2013.. you've thrown me around a bit and reminded me of what's truly important here on earth. Here's to LIFE and LIVING FULLY each day!

2014: Bring it on!

Happy New Year.

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