In 2015 I
focused on three words to guide my decisions and actions: Happy, Healthy, Helpful. I
enjoyed exquisite health this year
and moved into greater health regarding my eating. Today I don’t eat sugar, haven’t for 9 weeks
without a day off. Since I can’t eat
sugar in moderation, having none is really the best route for me, and it feels
like this has now become a habit. Although I haven’t lost much weight, I have
reached a mental clarity that I find exhilarating, and a level of joyful energy flows through me
more often than not.
I wouldn’t
have been able to ride this wave of health without being happy, which is why I put that word first. For years my happiness has depended on my
weight and body size, and that’s a losing proposition. This year, instead of waiting for results
that I thought would make me happy, I went right to the happiness by focusing
on the aspects of my life that are working well and being much more consciously
appreciative and grateful as a discipline.
How helpful I was this year is harder to
measure. I showed up for work
wholeheartedly, attended my recovery
meetings, and sponsored women, whom I speak to weekly. I prayed to be gracious
when people came to our home, and now that we’re moving, I’m being helpful in
the preparation and facilitation of that process.
Could I be more helpful? Probably, so I’ll
continue the weekly work of self-examination and conversation with a sponsor
and the monthly check on my spiritual fitness with my spiritual director because
both of those guides help me stay humble, which I suspect is the foundation for
being truly helpful.
This coming
year, I’d like to be Calm, Clear, and
Kind.
What will
your guiding words be next year?
