Starting a New Tradition

Holiday traditions can be so many things. They can be nostalgic, reminding you of things you did as a child. They can bring you joy. But sometimes they can also feel like a burden.

This year, I want to challenge you to take stock of the traditions you participate in on a yearly basis (this time of year is filled with them) and consider how they make you feel.

Then, consider if you want to continue with them or not. Do they serve you?

Perhaps there is one (or more) that makes you feel heavy. Perhaps there is something you have always wanted to do, but you have so many other things to do, that you don't have time to try it.

At this time last year, I was grappling with the idea of picking a word of the year (read about it here) and settled on the word "emerge".

Now, as I reflect on this word I don't think I have "emerged" this year. This year has been so much harder than I wanted it to be (hoped it would be) and I feel like I am far from that word. I'm still stuck.

My inner critic had a field day with that one, let me tell you. She was going on and on about how I would never emerge. What a joke it was for me toto have selected that word. What a failure I was for choosing that word and I should probably just give up on the idea entirely.

I let her have her say (it's hard not to) but after a few days, I decided that I was not willing to give up on the idea of emerging or of picking a word. I decided that even though it's hard, this is a tradition I want to continue with.

In fact, I decided to go one step further. When I was pulling out my ornaments to decorate my tree, I was looking through the ornaments that my niece and nephew made me when they were little - one each year - and decided I wanted to do that too.

So, this year, I am starting a new tradition. Each year, I will create an ornament to represent the word I chose. This way, every year as I decorate my tree I can look back at words of the year from the past and reflect on how that word has affected me.

After all, I may not have emerged this year, but it's got to happen someday, right?