Continuing on with our theme of goals, which inadvertently happened but works for this time of year…
A friend of mine introduced me to the concept of having a word for the year. The word is something you aspire to, something you hope to achieve, something to guide you through the year.
The word concept was introduced to my friend by Susannah Conway who has a wonderful, inspirational website. She teaches organization
You word should inspire you to do more. Help you change for the better in some way.
I love this concept, especially if your word can be interpreted in many different ways. The first year my friend told me about this, her word was “Light”. She took that to mean that she should get out more into the light (sunlight), she should try to keep a light, positive attitude, she should not bog herself down with too many physical things but live lightly. There are so many different ways you can interpret “Light” and she strove for them all throughout the year.
She’s still working on her word for this year, trying to discover what it might be, what she wants to aspire to.
Here are some possible words she’s considering:
Authentic, Aware, Balance, Bold, Bright, Calm, Clarity, Confidence, Courage, Cultivate, Defiance, Discover, Embrace, Experience, Explore, Exuberant, Focus, Forward, Honest, Humble, Increase, Listen, Magic, Nurture, Preserve, Plan, Reach, Reflect, Renew, Risk, Savour, Steady, Tenacious, Today and Wisdom.
I can see myself adopting a word like “Courage”. With it I could strive to be more outgoing. I could work harder at trying new things. I could even apply it to my writing by attempting a new genre or finding the courage to try new marketing tactics. There are so many possibilities!
Another one that speaks to me is “Defiance”. I could take that in a positive light and use it to not accept when people try to put me down, or to try harder when my writing isn’t going the way I want or feel it should. I could take it to inspire myself to get out there and get to the gym or out for a walk defiantly shoving aside all of my excuses why I shouldn’t.
I’m definitely going to have to think about this and carefully consider what word I want to attempt to embody in this coming year. Something that pushes me forward and yet also helps me to deal with what I’ve got. Something that will promote healthy living, calm, and good, positive mental health.
What do you think? Might you choose a word for this coming year? What do you want to strive for? Where do you want to be at this time next year?