Godin challenges us on this New Year's Eve with the question, "Why not be great?"
Which challenges me to identify "great." What is great? What does it mean to my life as a wife, friend, family member, mother and educator?
This is a question I will be thinking about in the days to come, but to start with great for me means the following:
Great is unencumbered. In 2012 I want to reach towards as much simplicity as possible. Less things, more time. More time, greater opportunity to do what really matters.
Great is belief-driven action. I want my actions in 2012 to exemplify my beliefs.
Great is continued growth. I am one of many, a tiny dot in the universe of life, and with that recognition comes the knowledge that I know only a small fraction of what there is to know. Hence I will continue to develop and integrate my awareness, knowledge, understanding and insight into my life's work and activity.
Great is love. Love is challenging. It takes getting to know one another in deep and meaningful ways. Love means serving each other for best result, experience and endeavor. Love sometimes means sacrificing your own gain to effect another's accomplishment. With love, comes the most satisfactory human experience, the best of what life has to offer.
Great is joy. Finding positive experiences in life that bring joy makes life worth living. Whether it is a beautiful garden, a hike in the mountains, dancing, dinner parties, travel, writing, reading and so much more, it's essential to find what brings you joy and make it a regular part of your life.
To start, great is joy, love, growth, belief-driven action in an unencumbered schedule and environment. In the days and weeks to come, I will think about the implications of great with respect to my many roles in life.
In the meantime, I'm curious, What does great mean to you?