My local newspaper ran an article on the front page yesterday. The headline read “Think You’ll Keep Your Resolutions? Dream On.”
Seems a little cruel to squash people’s enthusiasm before it even had the chance to take root, don’t you think? But the reality is that resolutions are usually cast by the wayside long before that 30-day trial gym membership you bought on Dec. 31st expires. I know I’ve been pretty hit or miss with my own resolutions over the years personally, so a few years ago, I switched tactics. Instead, I choose a word of the year.
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you may remember me doing this the past few years. I learned the concept from a coach named Christine Kane. Basically, you choose one word – ONE WORD – to focus on throughout the year. The word should feel exciting and challenging and at least a little bit scary. Over the years, I’ve picked words like “transformation”, “intention” and “charmed.”
Sometimes your word might have a bit of an agenda attached to it, but the goal is to open the word up as much as you can to see the possibilities of where it might play out over and over again in your life. For example, if you’ve already set a goal to lose weight, run a 5k and drop two clothing sizes, you might choose the word, “health.” With just a little bit of expansion and awareness, you can take ‘health’ and also apply it to your relationships, to your spirit, to your creativity. Get the idea? After you chose the word, write it out, print it, post it, blog about it, meditate on it – whatever you need to do to keep the word in your mind all year. And then watch…
Watch how your life changes, watch how the word pops up in places you expected and where you didn’t. Watch how you rise to the occasion, learn more about yourself and change your life. Really.
I had a hard time choosing my word this year. I had lots of contenders – words that seemed almost right, but not quite. Words that captured part of what I wanted but not everything. Nuance is important here since the word will stay with me all year. I wrote down some of my goals and some of my challenges for the new year, looking for the common thread. And then yesterday, a friend posted one of my favorite quotes on her wall, and there was my word:
2013: My word of the year is NOW.
What’s yours?
Positive!
Cara Burgoyne Voice Teacher/ Vocalist 415-730-7502
Generous
[...] combined the “one word” exercise that so many are doing this year with a vision board exercise (see, What the Heck’s [...]