In a Word – My Goal is Improvement

I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, as they rarely last beyond January.  But for the past few years, inspired by a friend and wonderful writer, Salma Ali, I try to come up with a word that will inspire my actions for the year, and I’ve asked some Lady Docs friends to join me.  

A few years ago after I closed my office, my word was curiosity.  Indeed, I took full advantage of my newfound time to read and explore quite a bit.  So much so, that the next year my word was focus.  It was my attempt to keep myself from saying yes to every article, activity and organization that beckoned. I learned that saying yes to everything meant that I’d never have time for the reading, cooking, guitar playing, Spanish learning … that I really wanted to do, but even in ‘retirement’ couldn’t find time for.  (A recent podcast about words let me know that ending a sentence in a preposition is OK!)

This year, my word will be ‘improvement’.  I’m not thinking of it only for myself – there is plenty to work on there – but also informing what little I can do related to the increasing food and housing insecurity in the country, and especially in the DC area.  Hard hit as we already are with devastating cuts in employment, upcoming changes to Medicaid and SNAP benefits will add to the pain.  If we’re fortunate enough to be doing well in these difficult times, what can we do to improve the situation of others?  Fortunately, I have learned about a coalition that is focused on children, via contact with Healthy School Meals for All, and plan to be active with them.  

What am I thinking about improving for myself?  For the purpose of this post, I’ll keep it to the top few.  I plan to improve keeping in touch with people I care about.  I haven’t been great with that.  Also, I’d like to improve my time management.  On days when I have nothing specific planned, I tend to let the day slip away, going down more rabbit holes than I can count.  Those are often fascinating, but if I limited them, I could get to other things that I’d really like to do with my personal time.  

How will I assess on January 1 2027 whether I ‘improved’? In my next post, I’ll talk about SMART goals. These are very small, specific, measurable goals.  They apply to any behavior that you’d like to change. I’ll work on my specific goals and get back to you soon.  Now, I’d like to hand this over to my wonderful friends and colleagues and share their dedicated words for 2026.

Linda Yau:   Perseverence –  it inspires me while I am striving to get through at least 12 cycles of chemotherapy.  I have already lost 95% of my hair, been hospitalized for fever and survived severe nausea.  I remember this verse that was also one of our wedding verses 33 years ago:  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”. Hebrews 12:1

Gail Fisher: Activism, as in, “a protest a day keeps the fascists away.”

Chitra Rajagopal: Punctuality – I feel like I have no time to even stop for a minute, yet I am always behind.  

Linda McKibben: Commitment

Molly Strauss: Engagement

Serrin Gantt: Tapestry – focusing on strengthening interwoven, colorful, creative elements in my life.

Thu Tran: Eudemonia – a Greek word for living well and flourishing.

Julia Korenman: Courage – to do the hard things in all areas of life.

Janet Fried: Nature – both inner and outer.  Thanks to Janet for the following poem from Spirit of a Hippie

Mary Anne Byrne

A New Year’s Blessing

May this new year unfold with light and promise. 

May your body feel strong, your mind feel clear and your heart remain open to possibility.

May you awaken with purpose in your breath and rest at night knowing you did enough.

May opportunity meet your effort, patience walk beside ambition, and challenges sharpen you without ever hardening you.

May laughter arrive often and stay awhile.  

May love, old and new, grow deeper, truer.

May you give freely without losing yourself, and receive fully, without hesitation.

And when the road bends without warning, may you trust the strength you’ve earned and the wisdom you carry to guide you.

May this be a year of steady growth, honest joy, and gentle courage, a future that feels not only hopeful, but open and welcoming too. 

From the LadyDocs to all of you, Happy New Year.  We wish you new beginnings, new adventures, and lots of give and take, all involving warmth and laughter.  And if the spirit moves you, please share a word that will inspire you to grow this year!