Oh, My. Stop What You're Doing.

Stop what you're doing right now and read this.

Okay, good. Now let me tell you my very favorite part:

We might begin the year with big ideas and big plans but it is in the translation between intent and action where excellence resides...

You know how I love words, but even at their finest they are insufficient without the heart behind them, giving them substance and meaning, breathing life into our intentions and making our actions sing.

Abstract sentiment is not enough. Let's run strong, work hard, live free, speak truth, and love well.

I have been a "word lover", well, forever. I have been fascinated with words ever since my mom read me my first book (I would memorize them when I couldn't read yet), read everything I could get my hands on as soon as I learned to read myself (Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, Judy Blume, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, you get the picture), loved stories ever since that first UIL story telling competition in the second grade, and writing? Oh, man. I have written letters (still have an entire box of letters my Mammaw and I exchanged over the course of 21 years), poetry, short stories, long stories, journal entries, you name it--since the very beginning.

And when you love words, when you love to read them, say them, write them, listen to them, reflect on them, when you love thinking of all the unique ways you can put them together to say something powerful....you can fall into the trap of becoming "all talk". That's why that post really hits home. Abstract sentiment really isn't enough. I needed to hear that. Beautiful, touching, inspirational, sentiment is still just sentiment when you strip down the "beautiful, touching, and inspirational" from it. Words (even beautiful words) are meaningless if there is no action to back them up. I'm going to remember that as I read through my journal entry on Who I Want to Be At This Time Next Year. I am going to focus on being intentional with my action items.