{"id":965,"date":"2019-01-27T12:42:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T20:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.slowbloom.com\/blog\/?p=965"},"modified":"2019-02-05T17:46:34","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T01:46:34","slug":"weird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slowbloom.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/weird\/","title":{"rendered":"Weird"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the beginning of each year I pick a word for my theme, rather than making a resolution. I decided in December that for 2019 my word was WEIRD. The last several years I have picked action words<\/a>, which have been helpful, but I felt I needed something different this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tide<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I have previously talked about how odd I feel <\/a>and have felt for most of life. The reasons and contexts have shifted over the years, but the feeling persists. I\u2019m not like fill in the blank. I have never been like fill in the blank. On an intellectual level, I understand this makes me interesting and unique. When I was a teenager I hated it, because I got a lot of attention for things I felt were beyond my control. I didn\u2019t want to be noticed and especially not for reasons that made me different. I don\u2019t think my young mind would have understood you can\u2019t be noticed if you are like everyone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019ve gotten older, I\u2019ve learned to turn down the volume on what I think other people like. The worry is still there, just quieter and quieter. Instead, I\u2019m learning to turn up the volume and pay closer attention to what I want and what interests me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, WEIRD<\/strong>: for me, this is about remembering to follow my curiosity and pay attention to what draws my attention, especially if I notice that internal judge sitting next to me with a frown on her face. It\u2019s about going to the places that scare me, not because they are dangerous, but because I fear no one will go with me. In my experience, I have found wonderful friends when I dare to venture out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the intention is tied to my writing efforts, I also want to declare my writing goals for 2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n