Word of the Year: Courage

Courage.

I will spare you from going into the Cowardly Lion’s speech even though it’s probably playing in your head right now. It took me a while to decide on this year’s word of the year. A word that would guide my decision making throughout the year and my general outlook on upcoming days.

I thought about playing it safe and choosing a word like change. Change. How boring? Things change every day, if not every minute.

But courage? Well, that takes a little chutzpah. Big ones, so to speak.

I was never one to play it safe. I was always the dare devil. I marched to the beat of my own drum. I had, um have, a carefree spirit and, most times, don’t care what others have to say.

But for some reason, that part of me, has been sitting on the back burner for awhile. Maybe it’s because I am a mom and I feel like I have to play it safe more times than not. Or maybe I just wanted stability in my life and playing it safe gives you just that.

But you know what playing it safe gets you?

A whole lotta nothing.

If you want something in your life, you’ve gotta go for it, right? Grab the bull by the proverbial horns.

And what does that take?

Courage.

So this year, I am going to be courageous. I am going to make my own opportunities instead of waiting for someone to hand them to me. I am going to bring back that dare devil. The risk tasker. I am going to march to that drum that I still can hear faintly in my heart.

And I may fail. A lot. And hard.

But I may also succeed. And the fear of not succeeding is far outweighing my fear of failing these days.

Courage.

Whatta they got that I ain’t got?

Courage.

Until now.