Friday, January 01, 2010

My Word for 2010

Last year MPJ at A Room of Mama's Own set herself a word for the year. I chimed in and said mine for the year was insane optimism, since I'd already written this post about 2009. Insane optimism kept me afloat through the year, but it got me into some trouble too. I did way too much last year, and so didn't do any of it well. I may have been the worst fund raiser the P&C has ever seen. I was annoyed that the essay I wrote about feminism vs multiculturalism was too broad and insufficiently deep. I knew it when I submitted it, and it was marked accordingly, but I just didn't have time to fix it. I didn't devote as much time to project management as I would have liked, which fortunately didn't affect the project much, but definitely made our job more stressful. All in all, I need to be doing less.

So this year, my word is "Pause". When presented with an opportunity or a problem*, I will not immediately assume that I should do something personally about it. I will pause long enough to consider all the consequences of that decision - for me, my family and the other commitments I already have.

"Pause" also reminds me to take the time to enjoy what I am doing, and to take the time to do nothing occasionally. Those Rush lyrics that pop up sometimes over there on the right hand side have been running through my head a lot recently:
Time stand still
I'm not looking back but I want to look around me now
Time stand still
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away
I'll be keeping my optimism - although after the farce that was Copenhagen and the advent of Tony Abbott as leader of the Libs, it'll be sorely tested - because I really think it's a pre-requisite for success. "Pause" isn't a resolution, it's more a tone for the year, something to keep in the back of my mind rather than something to succeed or fail at.

Now I'm going to head on over and find out what MPJ's word is for 2010.

*My business partner claims that all problems are opportunities, but I think his MBA has addled his brain.
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4 comments:

  1. Mary P Jones (MPJ)1 January 2010 at 11:02

    Pause is a excellent word for the year! May you savor your moments in 2010!

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  2. Dina Roberts 2 January 2010 at 01:32

    I love the pause idea. It's something I really need to do more.

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  3. Deborah2 January 2010 at 17:56

    "Pause" is good. I might just adopt that one too. Or maybe, "slow and steady" instead of too much frenetic enthusiasm.

    Feminism and multiculturalism... Susan Moller Okin?

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  4. Ariane2 January 2010 at 18:13

    Yes, Okin, and others. It was actually a South African woman whose name eludes me at the moment who I was most impressed with. I could have written the whole essay on her position, but I couldn't resist making fun of some of the ridiculous "leave them to it" defenders.

    Her approach was based on deliberative democracy, but I thought the key to her approach is that no-one was allowed to use a moral defense for their argument, they had to base it on how their argument would improve their own position. I liked it a lot! Damn, I wish I could remember her name. I'll have to go look it up - after dinner, since I have been summoned. :)

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