Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  —Matthew 7:7-8, King James Version

 

Last year, I didn’t make any resolutions. What I did was continue some ongoing personal challenges, and set myself some bigger goals. Instead of concentrating a bunch of effort at the beginning of the year (I started rather lazily, actually) I ended up concentrating effort in the middle of the year (June/July), which built up into a very satisfying momentum. I ended up hitting all of my goals, and got healthier to boot.

This year, I decided to take that idea and expand on it a little bit. There are some activities that I want to try and some larger projects that I want to tackle, but I much like the low-and-slow approach to building a life.

Because there are some mindset issues I want to tackle, I’m trying out the idea of a theme for the year. It took a while to whittle down a bunch of ideas to one simple word, but it came to me this afternoon.

My theme for 2019 is SEEK.

The unspoken subtext is to seek what is, not what should be or what might be or what I wish to see. Seek what currently exists to find.

This means not jumping to conclusions. This means not assuming that I know things when I don’t. This means being curious. This means refraining from judgment, instead taking the time to explore and learn more. This means putting aside my constant need to intellectualize things and to just experience things. Intensely, inquisitively, but being present in the moment.

Here are some of the ways that I’ve already interpreted this word. In 2019, I intend to seek:

  • new opportunities (to add value, to make money, to meet people)
  • a new skill
  • contentment (with what currently exists, not focusing on what doesn’t exist yet)
  • ways to connect (with people, or to put two disparate ideas together)
  • the best in people
  • the Kingdom of God (to see the Spirit and the Truth in things)
  • to deepen and to grow (in my faith, in relationships, in my community)
  • the limits of my time and the boundaries I place on myself
  • solutions, rather than more reasons why

I don’t have many “what to dos” yet, but I like this list of “how to do it.” Reframing my conundrums (being too negative on myself and needing to pay more attention to people and relationships) in this way has made me think of new ways of approaching old problems in my life.

Not long after the word SEEK popped into my head this year, I went to get coffee. With “seek to connect with people” fresh on my mind, I decided to smile at a guy in line. He turned out to be a match from a dating site who I had “liked” a few days ago. We had a nice conversation (we’ll see where it goes)…but the triple-word score synchronicity is enough to tell me that I’m on the right track.

Like I said before, I’m not going to push it this year. Instead, I’m going to keep this idea at the forefront of my mind. It’s already gotten me thinking differently, and acting differently.

Moving back to more concrete goals, I’ve set myself three main challenges: do something social at least once a week, complete a larger project or trip each month, and start using the Flylady method to learn how to be a better housekeeper.

Some goals include: get good enough at art to submit my work for consideration to a coffee shop or gallery, go flyfishing, follow through on the backpacking trip that my dad and I have been talking about for years, set up an LLC for this blog, and learn how to bind a book.

The rest I’ll make up as we go along—what good would the year be if I planned everything now?

There’d be nothing to seek later!