Does anyone else do this? I set my intention for the year by choosing one little word and I just look at the things I want to do with my life through this filter. I do decide on projects and set some goals but don’t necessarily do that January 1st. All I need is the word to work with.
Last year my word was Flourish. I really liked that one. It reminded me of how a beautiful English garden grows. Lots of colour, surprises, messiness, secrets, blooming, and growth with a few weeds here and there. It worked well with all the projects I took on, adventures I went on, and even some little ventures I started.
This year, after lots of thought and soul searching (well a little at least) I have settled on my word – STRETCH! Stretch my mind, stretch my abilities, stretch my body, stretch my skills and stretch my creativity.
I started a new hobby last year – bird photography. This is definitely an area where I will be employing my one little word this year. I think the word encompasses so many elements as opposed to setting a single goal, like ‘get better’ or ‘improve’. At any rate, it has worked for me. And yes, I know all about SMART goal setting, in case you’re wondering.
I stretched my legs a bit yesterday. BD and I went out to Goldstream Provincial Park to see if I could find some eagles for me to photograph. There was one in a tree but too far to get any decent pictures and there were 3 soaring – WAY too high for photos and even my 600mm lens. A fellow photographer had 1300 mm and wasn’t getting much either.
So instead I went out and found these beauties and I then I played with my new AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 G ED lens. This new lens will definitely require quite a bit of ‘skill stretching’ as you will see from the image at the end!
Today, I have already had to stretch my patience… but that is a condo problem. Apparently I have a neighbour that only likes it when we are out of residence. Go figure. Enough said.
Learned: Don’t leave home without them!
I guess I haven’t processed any of the rest of the 200+ micro pictures I took so will put them in another post in the near future.
My 2020 wish for you: I hope you realize all your dreams this year. Whether you set them as goals or use a One Little Word like I do and approach all the things you want to accomplish using the word as your filter.
All the best to my little community for 2020!