Welcome 2014

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Ours was great. Although this was actually the boys’ third Christmas, it felt like their first. This year they understood some of the concepts of Christmas. It is so amazing to see the awe and amazement on their faces as they experience ‘firsts’.

And now it’s 2014.

Last year I choose a word to focus on for the year instead of a resolution. My word for 2013 was deliberate. Although I didn’t post much about being deliberate, I loved focusing on this word throughout the year. (Hmm, maybe I should have been more deliberate about blogging…)

For the last couple of weeks I have been hunting for a word to take through 2014. I’m still not settled on a word (maybe you can help), so let me share my thoughts. (I am apologizing ahead of time for the rambling you are about to endure.)

In the year 2014 I want to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I want to focus on things that I have been scared to do. I’m not a person that is afraid of trying anything, but instead I am scared of failure and rejection. If I am being honest with myself, I can say failure is my biggest fear (even more than snakes).

I am so lucky to have the best cheerleader ever on my side (my husband). He is always encouraging my to put myself out there and market my skills. (Get your minds out of the gutter people. I’m talking about creative skills.) I often feel like I have failed him, only because I am afraid of putting myself out there.

I also feel that it is our duty as parents to show our children that life isn’t always comfortable or easy. You have to push yourself outside your comfort zone to better yourself and the world around you. I want to teach my children to live up to the awesomeness God intended you to be, to use the skills he planted within you.

So long story short, I want to push myself beyond what is comfortable. In 2014 I will stop making excuses “why I don’t,” and instead do. I will put myself out there in 2014!

Here’s where I need you to chime in: What word best describes ‘getting outside your comfort zone?’ The only word that comes to mind is uncomfortable. That word seems too negative to focus on for a year. (Yet the one word was great last year.)

Have you set any goals or resolutions for 2014? What do you do to get out of your comfort zone?