2014 Road Map, Not Resolution

I am the anti-resolutionist. I don't do resolutions. They are too easily broken despite good intentions. I need more than the ticking of the clock from one day in December to the next day in January to undertake life changes. However, this year, I do need to make some big changes, mostly to do with the amount of stress in my life (which is mostly due to my job). I began thinking about Less Stress as resolution shorthand for 'leave work at a decent hour and don't try to do it all'. But then my never-ending creative longings spoke up and said, "Write a book! Create beautiful art! Sing! Play violin! Play guitar!" 

Hmmm. How to meld those two diametrically opposed needs: less stress on the one hand, all the creative stuff on the other hand (both of which come after my job)?

I created a Wordle. In it, I wrote the picture of what I want for my life in 2014. Turns out, less stress and my creative endeavors aren't necessarily diametrically opposed. It's a road map, not a resolution. It's a visual for the overlap of creativity and less stress. And I can return to it for direction when I am getting lost.

It's going to be a good year.