(You can read my resolutions from years past if you’d like to!: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and 2012)
This is my New Year’s Resolution post. (Kind of.)
I realize it’s very near the end of January, but I’ve been waiting for the new year burst of energy – that burst that stems from the clean slate feeling that a new year brings – to occur. It hasn’t really yet – not this year (although it has in many years past). And that’s okay. Who says a year has to start off with a grand entrance, after all, in order to bode well for what’s to come?
Rather than jump right into a resolution (since the start of this year has felt a little slow to me), I’ve used these first days of 2019 to really think about what my theme for the year should be.
I landed on this: Creative connection.
(What exactly does that mean, Anna?)
Well, I chose these words because each of them means a lot to me individually, and I think they gain even more power when they’re brought together.
Creative: I’m at my best when I’m in an environment that allows me to be creative. When I haven’t enjoyed jobs or experiences, it’s often because I felt like my creativity was stifled or undervalued in those situations. Now, thankfully, I work in a space where creativity is the name of the game, and I get so much energy from that! I also love integrating creativity into other facets of my life, like this blog (and offshoot elements like my podcast), my Beautycounter business, and helping family and friends talk through problems and “life stuff” and apply some creative thinking to those conversations.
Connection: I’ve talked about this a ton here and on Instagram, but connection is the name of the game for me. Like creativity, connection fuels me. It gives me motivation and meaning and helps me feel most like me. I met with a career counselor last year because I wanted to take stock of my work past and, more than anything, make sure I was set up to make intentional decisions about my future career path. Throughout that process, we talked not just about my career, but also the other things I do (things like teaching Pure Barre and blogging and being a Beautycounter consultant), which always seemed rather disparate to me. My counselor helped me realize that CONNECTION was at the heart of each of those passions. They weren’t nearly as disjointed as I’d thought they were, and I loved uncovering that commonality. Just like things like work and my blog and my Beautycounter business and my friendships are spaces where I can stretch my creative muscles, they’re also places where connection is key. I love that.
So then, creative connection is the merging of these two things in a way to enhance them both. Creative connection (the way I’m choosing to define it for me in 2019) is connection with purpose. Connection with the intent to make new things grow. Creativity that powers connection so that it can be even stronger and more meaningful and lasting. Using connection – both existing connection and to-be-developed connection – to make amazing things happen. (Doesn’t that feel energizing? I get so excited thinking of what might be possible when I combine these two elements with such intention.)
More and more, we’re realizing (through research as well as just life experience) how vital connection is to our overall health and happiness as humans. (To clarify, I mean TRUE connection, which is an important distinction to make in a world where we’re all very “connected” all the time.) It’s a theme that’s been at the forefront of my mind lately, so making it my 2019 mantra feels very right.
How would YOU interpret creative connection? Does it spark something for you? I’d love to hear your take on this theme if you’d be willing to share it with me!
I’m not sure how exactly this will come to life over the next year (well, I have one potential expression in mind already!), but I can’t wait to see what the coming months will bring. I’m so glad you’re here to come along for the ride!
