It’s that time of year again! That glorious fresh-faced and hopeful time when the gym is bursting at the seams, leftover cookies are tossed out and you finally know what day it is again. (The last week of the year sure is a doozy, isn’t it?) I love how January feels like opening up a new pad of Arches watercolor paper, crisp white and ready for some big ole brush strokes. My first brush stroke always starts with this: choosing my word of the year. I love this tradition, and I go for a word of the year rather than resolutions because I like having an overarching “theme” that inspires me in all aspects of my life. It’s not quite as quantifiable, but you know what, that means you can’t fail, am I right?
This year, I have chosen ACTION as my 2019 word of the year. Let’s see what our pal Webster has to say about the word action.
I know — it’s not the most exciting definition, but it stuck with me. A thing DONE. Not a thing rewritten on a to-do list or a thing almost done, but finished. I am a dreamer, and I have more ideas than you can shake a stick at, but when it comes to putting those ideas into practice, I can fall short. And trust me, I give myself grace on that. I know I can’t do it all. But I know I can do more too.
As an entrepreneur, I think we hear quite often about the hustle and the grind — the busy-ness that is shown off like a sparkly accessory, but now the trend has shifted. Now I see more and more about embracing rest, and hustle has become a dirty word. Man, both of these extremes are hard to live up to, don’t you think? I like to think there’s a place right there in the middle, not balance, but harmony, where rest AND hustle have their place.
Confession: I can justify NOT taking action by telling myself I don’t need to hustle and falling back on the idea of rest as a crutch. Now don’t get me wrong — we NEED that glorious to rest to step back from our businesses and daily struggles and recenter, but when that becomes a pitfall for moving forward, then that ain’t good. I have to ask myself often: are you being busy or are you being productive?
Things I’ve said as excuses for not taking action:
So WHY do I get so weirded out about taking action sometimes? As a self-proclaimed ambitious artist, I know I can be VERY afraid of failure (like a MAJOR failure, not small day-to-day mistakes.) And of course, I can be be self-conscious about the perception of perfection — if it’s not done right, I don’t want to do it all. And all this overthinking can lead me right down the path of over-analysis paralysis, which is my LEAST favorite place to be (besides the dentist.) Over the past few months in my biz, I’ve started to realize that action leads to motivation for me. Did ya catch that? I have to have the action FIRST before I’m even motivated. Motivation isn’t the spark for the action — it’s the byproduct. (And all the other entrepreneurs said, “AMEN.)
And that’s why I am so excited to declare 2019 as the year of action. It almost feels like I’ve been a bit in a season of waiting and refining, figuring out what TRULY floats my boat as a creative business owner, and I’m ready to take action into going deep into those things. I’ve always embraced the mantra “done is better than perfect” in my watercolor artwork, but I’m ready to put that into practice in the new offerings in 2019 like courses designed for stationers and artists through Biz Birthday Bash, The Biz Bash Podcast and my wholesale strategy and products.
So what does that look like? Here’s a little breakdown of what’s on my heart and my mind, in list form because everyone knows lists are the secret to any successful action. (It’s science.)
Focusing my efforts and taking action on my ideas; pruning out the not-so-important parts and creating some awesome resources for y’all; praying over my actions in business and seeking to glorify God with my biz.
Being active in my friendships and relationships; not falling prey to my introverted, “inside-cat” tendencies; taking action on being the first one to reach out and being a friend that is loyal and willing to go the extra mile; being bold in my marriage with actions that put my husband’s needs before my own; actively showing love instead of just saying it.
Actively seeking God in all aspects of my life; taking action on things that I want to help make a difference; being active when it comes to generosity and looking for opportunities to make my faith active and not just personal.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.James 2: 14-17
Did you choose a word of the year for 2019? Let me know yours in the comments below.
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Izumi Keane
April 13, 2021
My husband and I are planning to have a small reception on 7 Apr in Pensacola,FL.And I was wondering if you could make invitation cards in such a short time.I love your painting and have been following your instagram,so I thought it’d be nice to have your art in part of our reception.Thank you.