One of my big goals is to stop saying sorry, so instead of apologizing for the lack of posts around here, I’ll just say thanks for sticking around.

Instead of making empty resolutions this January that would undoubtedly fall by the wayside within a couple months, I decided to choose a Word of the Year. In 2015, my word was Intentional. For 2016, I chose the word Fearless. Here’s how I’ve been trying to live by my chosen word…

I’ve tried to tackle at least one thing each month that scares me. One thing, big or small, that expands my comfort zone just a little farther. Here’s what I’ve done so far…

In January I joined a local business referral group to really help get my name and my brand out there. It’s the first group (not online) like that that I have joined, and I have definitely seen it make a difference in my business.

In February I spoke twice at the Downtown Raleigh Home Show. I talked about our home restoration and some tips I have for anyone trying to tackle such a big project.  Speaking in front of a crowd absolutely terrifies me, so this was a huge step for me!

In March, I kept the speaking theme alive and started teaching seminars at a few Small Business Centers in eastern NC. I covered topics ranging from social media 101 for small businesses to how to set up an Etsy shop to blogging for business. Teaching is not something I ever had any interest in, but it proved surprisingly invigorating!

In April I chose not to participate in the One Room Challenge. This may not seem like a big deal, but my ORC makeovers (see our porch here and my office here) have always brought a ton of traffic and really boosted my page views and monthly visitors. These reveals seem to propel my blog to the next level each time…which leads to more income opportunities. But I decided I’d rather wholeheartedly jump on board with the Challenge in the fall than to spend more time and money that I don’t have just to not miss out. #fomo is a real thing, y’all!

In May I taught a social media class at our local Chamber of Commerce as a part of Small Business Week. By this point, teaching in itself wasn’t quite as scary, but this was the first seminar I’ve done in front of a lot of people that I know. I found that it took a lot more nerve to stand up in front of my local peers than it did to teach a small class in a different part of the state.

In June I agreed to be on the board of the NC Downtown Development Association. NCDDA is an organization whose goal is to enhance downtowns as cultural and economic centers throughout the state. My hope is that this will expand my personal and professional reach, and will allow me to work on some pretty cool historic projects across the state.

Did you pick a Word of the Year for 2016? How have you been living that word?