RECLAIM: One Word 2020

If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you’d know that I’ve been doing One Word each year as a New Year’s resolution. This year is no different. What’s different is that I had trouble choosing a word this year. In fact, I ended up choosing my word only today.

I initially chose the word “Courage” because I thought that this year would be a good year to be braver in terms of going after my dreams. While that is still a goal of mine, there was still something about it that didn’t seem fit enough to describe what I really want to achieve this year.

I also thought of using the word “Hustle”. As I was reminiscing about everything that happened in my life for the past 10 years and the lessons I’ve learned along the way, I realized that there are still a lot of things that I want to achieve. I wanted to do all that I possibly can this year to achieve them and so “hustle” seemed like a good fit. However, it still didn’t seem to really capture what my heart is yearning for.

I finally came across the word “RECLAIM” today as I was getting inspiration from other people’s One Word. It immediately resonated with me. It made me remember a quote I saw a few weeks ago that goes:

Remember who you are and the game changes.

I saw that quote when I was trying to find inspirational dashboards for my planner. I loved it so much because I felt like I had forgotten or neglected some parts of myself these past few years and wanted to reclaim them. So, I was so happy to find that quote and to discover that there was a downloadable desktop and mobile phone wallpaper that had the quote on it. It’s been on my laptop and phone for more than a week now.

I just feel that in my desire to be the best mom and wife, so many other things in my life have had to take a back seat. Don’t get me wrong. This is not something I regret. Giving up some of the things in my life was just a temporary necessity given that season of my life. However, I feel that this year is finally the time to get more of ME back.

So, you see? The word RECLAIM is just perfect, don’t you think?

Now, exactly what do I plan on reclaiming in my life this year? I plan to RECLAIM my:

HEALTH – I’ve gained a lot of weight these past few years. I’ve also begun to experience some health concerns. Going back into a healthy weight would improve things a lot, which is especially important now that I’m turning 41 soon.

TIME – There’s so many things to do but so little time. Since there’s only 24 hours a day, I want to simplify a lot of the things I do so that I can spend more time on the things that matter most.

CAREER – I love working from home but I’ve had to scale back during the last few years so that I can focus on child-rearing and homeschooling. This year I think I’m ready to do more work-wise now that my youngest child is already 3 years old and we’re already on a steady groove in our homeschool.

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE – A lot of my insecurities lately stem from the fact that I don’t earn as much as I used to anymore as a result of scaling back on work. It just makes me feel good to earn my own money.

CONFIDENCE – These past few years I’ve been second guessing myself a lot. I want to be able to remember what I’m made of and be more confident in my abilities and decisions.

PASSIONS – I’ve had to scale back on some of my hobbies too, such as reading. I really miss it, so I vow to read more this year. Similarly, I’ve scaled back on blogging as well, but this year I want to bring this blog back to a more active status again.

HEART – My heart has been bruised so many times this year by people who are closest to me. A lot of that comes from me caring so much. That’s just part of my personality. However, while I will still continue to care for the people I love, it’s also high time for me to start caring more about myself so that I can bring back the ME I used to love.

Some people would probably say that this is a bit selfish, thinking about myself. However, after years of giving so much of myself to the people I love, I think it’s more than okay for me to be a little selfish. I deserve this and will not apologize for it. I truly believe that it is in remembering and reclaiming the best parts of me that I will truly change the game this year.

Here’s to 2020!

Do you have a One Word for the year too? Please share it with me. I’d be happy to hear about it.