It’s been a month since I posted a blog. I never intend to go that long between posts, but life happens. The first two weeks of January were all travel, visiting family in the south and making the long trip between Alaska and the southeast, there and back again in a short stretch of time. Five states and three time zones…it was a marathon. But it couldn’t have gone more smoothly.

Two weeks back in Alaska, and I’m caught up with my day job…well, it’s contract work, so it’s not a full time position…but for the moment, I’m caught up and can breathe again.

That’s good, because that means I can turn my attention to the book I’m working on, a new site, the learning curve that never seems to end with digital products…oh, the list is long!

I love it. I never expected to become a road warrior, traveling as much as I do, but for now, that’s my life. It’s challenging in some ways…keeping up with time zones and living out of a suitcase…but it’s also energizing and keeps life interesting.

My word this year is “thrive.” Funny, I’ve noticed it in several posts and graphics. Maybe it’s like being pregnant: as soon as you are, the whole world is pregnant with you. Now that I’m focused on my word, I see it popping up all over the place.

So how do I know if I’m thriving? What’s the difference between thriving and just living a normal, healthy life?

The definition of the word is: to grow or develop vigorously; flourish. And that’s my goal: to flourish. To grow. To keep growing, vigorously.

And at this point in my life, the only kind of growth that’s acceptable is internal. (Sadly, I’m too old to expect growing in height, and pretty determined to keep from growing out.)

Self-improvement is a never ending job, it seems. Yes. Yes it is. We’re never done growing, learning, forgiving, trying, failing, trying some more.

Thank God for many chances to get it right.

Or do it better.

Or do it again.

When I chose the word “thrive” for this year, I was thinking of it as a state of being. But after giving it more thought, the beauty of the word is that it describes a state of becoming.

After all, we say a baby or a plant or a relationship is thriving…that means an ongoing process, not a snapshot of a single moment in time.

Thriving is a dynamic process, and maybe it’s as much about trying and failing as trying and succeeding. Regardless, I think it requires motion, action, intention and will.

I’ve got all of those lined up.

How about you?

I hope you’re thriving, one month in to 2016. And if you are, tell me about it? I’d love to know what you’re doing to thrive: to grow vigorously.

~ Sheila