Why choosing your word for the year REALLY matters...
Have you got your word for the year yet?
Considering that last year I resisted mine for so long, I’m pretty excited that I’ve had my 2019 word for about a week now.
Before I share that with you though, I want to recap last year’s word and what I liked and didn’t like about it in the end and how that process has led me to re-think things for this year. I’ll share my process with you if you’re interested too – especially if you don’t yet have your word and want one.
Last year, I decided that my word would be balance. This word came about because although 2017 had been a successful year business-wise (that year, my word was mobilisation!) I felt that some of that success had come at the detriment of time with my husband, meet-ups with friends, and time to see my family.
‘Balance’ sprung out of the fact that I needed to give myself some grace. Have you ever reached that point?
So, with my new word in place, I did just that. I rested when I needed to, gave more time to life outside of my business, and invested heavily in mindset support. All of that was so desperately needed. I’d been ‘doing’ so long that I’d forgotten what it meant to simply be. On that note – if you’ve never allowed yourself to get mindset support in your business, do it. It’s a total game changer.
Anyway, with my new found love of ‘flow’ and letting things be easy, there was an element of me which had lost sight of who I really am at heart – someone who loves a bit of structure, some systems, and some strategy. I started to resist the idea of those things, deciding that planning = restriction as opposed to organisation.
True balance would have looked like both/and NOT either/or.
2018 was a good year again by God’s grace, but there’s a lot I can learn from it. And that’s where this year’s word comes in…
INTENTIONAL
I sat with this word for a while. As opposed to the year before, I wanted to really understand why this word made sense for me, I wanted to be connected to it in a sense.
INTENTIONAL for me means that I know myself. Which means that if I want to say ‘no’ to something, I say it as opposed to ignoring all of my boundaries in the name of people pleasing. Equally, it means that if I want to stay up all night in ‘hustle mode’ because I’m hit with inspiration or something, I’m choosing that.
Being INTENTIONAL means that as I prepare for the arrival of the new addition to our family this year, I’m choosing to honour myself (and bump!) with the decisions I make and the actions I take and the ones I don’t.
And being INTENTIONAL means that I run my business – it doesn’t run me.
The funny thing about my word for 2019 is that it’s kind of what I wanted to feel like in 2018, but instead of intentionally(!) leaning into where I felt God was leading me, I was pretty reactionary and my ‘all or nothing’ personality lapped up the opportunity to basically chill out in the name of balance.
With this word, I knew that I had to make some decisions about it first. Decisions about what I wanted to be INTENTIONAL with and basically how I wanted my 2019 word to make me feel. Although all of this might sound a little OTT for choosing a word for the year, I actually think that when we really understand the decisions we’re making for ourselves, it changes the course of our actions which is certainly not something we should be leaping into unknowingly.
And so with that, what’s your word for the year?
As you consider it, ask yourself:
Have I chosen this word simply as a REACTION to something I DON’T want to feel and/or be?
If that’s the case, have a re-think. Don’t allow for things to START there for you. Start with how you know you WANT to go into this year. Be INTENTIONAL about it, if you will!
The world is waiting for your work!
By the way… If you know you’re ready to finally draw a line in the sand as far as hanging out at hobby status or side hustle goes, I have just the thing. My ‘What’s in Your Hand’ live workshop has been created to empower you with the skillset and mindset you need in order to bring your God-given mission to life using the very gifts, skills & talents you already possess. You’ll walk away with a 4-week action plan and will be ready to get going immediately. To learn more and to register for next week’s workshop, click HERE.