I Dare YOU!

That’s right, YOU. I am focusing on YOU… Fantastic and fabulous Y-O-U. I bet that got your attention. If that’s made you a little self conscious, that’s okay. Let me turn the tables back toward myself for a minute. But don’t run off. I are coming back to you.

I am not really into resolutions, but the turn to another year certainly brings about thoughts and ideas for change. What I have realized is I am into growth and creativity and new experiences. I am into trying something different that forces some stretch and opens the eyes, heart and mind. And while I wouldn’t have thought that taking a photo a day or reading a book a week and blogging about it would do that, it did just that. And more. It connected me to you and others. It forced me to slow down and shift my focus inward and to things bigger than my own body.

So you can imagine that when you find good things like that, you want to do all that you can to keep it going. But I also want to pay it forward. And encourage others to get in on the awesomeness of it all.

So here I are back to you. I told you I’d be back.

I want to challenge each of you (followers, lurkers - the whole lot of you) to do something creative this year. Whatever creative means to you.

It could be that you are a great cook, but never make time for yourself to do it. What if you decided to try a new recipe a week or a month?

What if you’ve always wanted to knit but don’t know how. Picture yourself this time next year wearing a scarf made of your own handiwork?

Maybe you love to hike; goodness knows there’s lots of great places explore. Can you see yourself at the top a peak breathing in the world around you?

You can do it. I know you can.

It doesn’t matter what it is, just that you do something that focuses on you, celebrates your strengths or uncovers a new interest. You don’t have to write about it, or post about it or take pictures of it. You don’t even have to tell anyone you’re doing it. But when you spread the word of what you want to tackle, it’s amazing the support it can bring. Sure I had friends say I was crazy to try and read a book a week. Some even asked me why on earth I would want to do it. Didn’t matter to me that they thought I was nutty and yet the project totally mattered to me. That’s why I did it.

So yes, I am putting it out there and challenging you to do the same—if you so desire. And let it be known this is not to induce any pressure. I am totally anti-pressure unless it’s the kind provided by a licensed and trained professional while I lay on a table at the spa. Whatever you do, it has to work for YOU. I would love to know, however, if you decided to try something a little different.

And just what are am I doing in 2011? My projects continue to focus on the things I love most: words. For 2011 I will continue to have books prominently featured in my life as I read Books A-Z (that’s a book title for each letter of the alphabet). For those of you quick at math, that’s actually fewer books than I read this year and we are totally cool with that.

In place of the photo-a-day, I am stretching my vocabulary with a word-a-day, every day (thanks to the great idea of a friend), that will describe the day I had. The trick will be to use a different word or phrase every day of the year. No repeats. Crazy, right? That’s cool. That’s just how I roll.

Have I piqued your interest? Got you thinking that you could do this? You know you can. And if you decide to take the dare, I'd love to know about it. The love of it, the pain of it, the growth of it, the success of it…whatever that success may be.

Here’s to a fantastic new year and whatever it may bring!