My focus word for 2015 is something that I have been thinking about over the past year as I have conducted various diet and exercise experiments on myself and seen my body change in various ways. During all of these experiments and particularly recently when I was looking in the mirror at my ever-expanding pregnant body, I came to realize that there is no “ideal” body weight or size but rather an ideal set of proportions.

Proportion is about finding the right balance of factors to achieve an ideal result. Proportion is important in so many areas, including appearance, health, time management, social activities, spiritual and psychological growth, financial goals, parenting and yes, even organization!

What I especially appreciate about the word proportion is that it is very different from the word “perfection.” Perfection implies that there are a limited number of ways to do something and often only one “right” way. Perfection also seeks to make every single part perfect. Proportion acknowledges that there is beauty even in imperfection and that perfection isn’t necessary. It is the overall balance and end result that is the most important.

So, as I venture into 2015, I am hoping to learn the following about proportion:

• Learn to identify the ideal proportions in many areas of my life
• Correct areas that are out of proportion
• Appreciate how individual preferences on proportion vary and learn to identify the proportions used by others and their results

I hope you will also take a moment to write down a focus word or goals for 2015. I don’t view the focus word as a sort of report card by which I judge myself but rather a request to the world to teach me something that I need to know. The simple act of putting a request on paper seems to give the request priority. It helps keep me alert to life in general and by the end of the year I am always surprised at how much I have learned, often with very little effort on my part.

For examples of other approaches to focus words see:

• Marcia Francois’ Word of the Year – who also gives us the great quote, “Aren’t you glad there’s no rule that says we have to have our goals done and dusted on 1 Jan?”
• Kacy Paide’s 3 words for 2015
• And as one final example, over the weekend, I had the privilege to attend the funeral for a 95-year old neighbor. During a very touching eulogy, the niece of this amazing woman told us about her aunt’s unique goal-setting method. The devoutly religious woman used paper checkbook registers to track her prayer requests. In the “Payee” line, she would write down the name of the person she was praying for and what she hoped God would achieve for that person. Sometimes it was people she knew and sometimes it was complete strangers from the street. She used the registers to remind herself of how she wanted to spend her time in prayer. She could also look over the registers from time to time to see how many of her prayers were answered.

You can see that there are many ways to go about your goal-setting for 2015. Even if you don’t take any concrete action right now, mull it over in your mind and you might be surprised at what comes to you a week or a month from now.

May 2015 bring good proportions to us all!