2022 Word Reflection from the Cornerstone Team!

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Charity:

Every year we start fresh, excited and curious for what the New Year will bring. Some people feel like it is just another day. Some people take resolutions seriously. Well, around here, we like to come up with one word that we want to live up to every day for that year. Usually a goal to hold ourselves accountable too. I have found that when I pick a word for that year, I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.

This year, my word was simple, or so I thought. Invest. I don’t mean invest in the way that people usually think of the word, in the form of money. Although that would be great, I wanted to invest in the non tangible things. My goal started out with family time, hobbies, and side jobs like photography. While I have definitely taken time to learn and do more in each of these aspects, I have invested in myself in ways I really never have before. 

It’s no secret that I am approaching 30, well I would rather age like fine wine than old bread if you know what I mean. So I have taken this year to do small things that will matter in the future, washing/cleaning my face well, eating like I love my body instead of giving myself every thing I think I want. Exercising more and pushing myself daily. I didn’t do it all at one time. When I set the word I wasn’t even thinking about changing my eating habits or exercising but it slowly grew to more. Looking back now, I can say that this year has definitely been full of investments. More than I originally thought or planned. But ultimately, my investment has been in myself, my future, to have more energy with my kids, to get out more and move, to show them that we can push ourselves daily to be better that we were the day before!

Moral of the story is…whatever your word is, or your goal is, you will get the opportunity to live it out and let it become more than you originally thought. Let it. Let your goal grow, let yourself grow. Afterall, that’s the whole point.

Sam: 

Boundaries. Easy to set, hard to follow through with. That’s what I’ve learned in 2022. When I chose this word, I had no idea that we were going to have a baby this year, that life was going to throw some pretty big curve balls, but also provide some of the happiest moments of my life. 2022 has been a year that has been very unexpected, but I feel like I have been able to protect my peace + my family’s sense of normalcy because of the boundaries I have chosen to set. 

Over this past year, I have been very intentional about what I let, not only into my house but into my head. There is no room in my home (or my life, really) for judgement, for negativity and stress. I have chosen to pour love, laughter and intentionality into my life and my home. Because of these decisions I’ve made, I can tell that my family has seen a different side of Sam this year. They get the best me – the one that loves so big, the one that wakes up with a cup of coffee + a smile every morning, that doesn’t let the stress of the work day spill into home life. 

My boys and my husband are the best parts of life, every day I wake up and choose to be a better person for them. While yes, at the beginning I did choose this word for me, I think that being a better version of myself has really poured into my family – which deep down, might have been the goal the entire time! 

Like Charity said earlier, whatever your word/goal is, if we choose to live it out, it can change and evolve more than we ever thought possible! 

What was your word and how has it affected you this year? We’d love to hear your thoughts and perspective!!