posted on January 18, 2019 by Traci Douglass

2019: New Year, New Resolutions by Traci Douglass

First off, Happy 2019 everyone!

365 days of blank pages for us to fill with whatever we choose. Honestly, I’ve never been much of a resolutions person and that task seems rather daunting, at least to me.  So, last year I decided to do something a little different.

Instead of making resolutions, which I wouldn’t end up keeping more than a few weeks anyway, I chose to pick a word. Just one word, that I’d use as my guiding star over the year. For 2018, my word was Mindful.

According to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary, Mindful is defined as: inclined to be aware.

What I hoped was to live my life making better choices—in everything from food to finances. To really consider the long-term impact of whatever decision I was making instead of doing things on the fly, as is a bad habit of mine. Periodically throughout each day, and particularly whenever I was feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I’d stop and think for a moment about my word to center myself and refocus.

Did it work?

Sure, in some ways. I made a budget and stuck to it. I began cooking at home a lot more and meal-planning. I tried hard to stop and be aware as often as I could about what I was doing, why I was doing it, how I was feeling about it so I could choose where to go next.

Do I sometimes still find myself mired in doubt and depression, wondering how in the heck I ended up crying in the corner of my couch with a tub of frosting in one hand and some sappy movie on TV? Yep. But I’ve also learned (by being mindful) that it’s okay to feel those things. It’s also possible to make different choices in the future to ensure I don’t end up there again.

Will I be choosing a new guiding word for 2019?

I will.

If haven’t thought of your 2019 New Year’s Resolutions yet, start by choosing a word that best represents what you want to accomplish in the coming year. It should be something that has significance for you. Think of what exactly that word means to you, then meditate on that word at least once a day for a few seconds to center yourself and reaffirm your goal. Having trouble getting started? Here’s a list of some words that might get you going:

  • love
  • joy
  • peace
  • patience
  • kindness
  • empathy
  • goodness
  • gentleness
  • faithfulness
  • self control
  • steadfastness
  • persistence
  • organization
  • forgiveness
  • trust
  • healthy
  • serenity
  • cooperation

For myself, I’m thinking maybe Purposeful this time. Meaning I’ll continue to be mindful of my choices and now also try to add in a big picture view of things so that what I do today will benefit future me or the future world in some way. I believe I’ll start with getting my calendar sorted first. Which is probably good, since I just signed on to write 3 more Medicals books over the next year and have more Entangled Bliss projects in the pipeline as well, so I’ll need all the discipline and time-management I can get!

So, what will your word be for 2019?

I challenge you to share yours in the comments below so we can all hold each other accountable.

Until next time, Happy Reading!

Traci

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOW TO SEDUCE A BAD BOY
by Traci Douglass

Melody Bryant has heard it all before. Sure, she’s the epitome of the stereotype for a librarian. Loves order. Loves rules and deadlines. Loves books. But what she doesn’t love is still being a virgin at twenty-four. Unfortunately, the only guy she’s ever been interested in turned her down flat. And then left town. Eight. Years. Ago. Ugh.

Now her birthday is fast approaching and she just can’t take it any longer. She’s finding a guy before her birthday in five weeks or she’s adopting two more cats and fully embracing becoming “the crazy cat lady.”

But when her latest date ends in epic failure–everyone thinks of her as the “proper librarian,” she realizes what she needs is to ruin her reputation. And she knows the perfect guy to help her: the baddest bad boy in town. This Army vet won’t know what hit him…

tracidouglass.net

 

Traci Douglass

Traci Douglass

Fresh, Flirty, Fun. Sweet, Sexy Romance. USA Today Bestselling Author Traci Douglass writes fiction bursting with romance, usually mixed with a healthy portion of snark.Her stories feature sizzling heroes with quick wits and troubled pasts and smart, independent heroines who always give as good as they get. Her books are published with Harlequin/Mills & Boon, Entangled Publishing, and Tule Publishing. She's an active member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Indiana Romance Writers of America (IRWA), and the International Thriller Writers (ITW), and holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.

https://tracidouglass.net/

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