January 7th, 2015 by Morna
Some
of you know that I pick a word to guide and inspire me through the
year, to serve as a focus or intention as I face each day. I started
this practice back in 2005 or 2006 and have shared this story before. At
that time, I was actively practicing yoga and in a class, Kathy, the
owner of our studio, passed a basket with words. I chose one, openness,
and I didn’t really like it. After all, the woman next to me picked
love, which I thought was so much better. I asked to draw a new word and
Kathy told me the word had picked me and I was to go with it. I put the
paper with the word “Openness” on the computer where I could see it
every day. I was not sure what would happen, but I just started seeing
all kinds of things around me. I guess I was “open.”
Since that time I have had lots of different words to guide me
through the year, including abundance, challenge, joy, consciousness and
last year’s word “Trust.” I wanted to trust that I would make the right
decisions, that I would not second-guess my decisions, that the chances
I took would work out. And, yes, I could see a difference in how my
choices played out.
For me, this was a better idea than making a New Year’s Resolution.
So, why did I make the switch from resolutions to an intention? It came
down to the kind of person I wanted to be, not all the stuff I wanted to
do or have. Sure, I could have the same resolutions everyone else made:
lose weight, get organized, exercise more, the list goes on. But that
did not work because I was still “being” the same person. I had to make a
choice to “be” a different person. That is what has made the
difference, focusing on being.
So here we are, a week into 2015, and I have been thinking of my
“word.” I started by listing a group of words I found appealing: bounty,
mindfulness, connections, persistence, gratitude, harmony,
possibilities, thrive, awareness, exploration. And, while they
resonated, they did not resonate enough. Next, what I did was think
about what it is I wanted in my life and my business, and the answer
I kept coming back to was to fully experience what was in front of me,
whether that was a person, an experience, an activity, a challenge. It
was about being present; it was about being connected; it was about
being committed; and it was much more. So I just ruminated on “fully
experience.” Actually, you could say I slept on it. When I awoke on
Monday morning, the word “engaged” just came to me. That was it. I
wanted to be or feel engaged. I went to the dictionary and found the
following definition: “to establish a meaningful contact or connection
with.” Meaning and connection.
Have you picked a word to guide you for the year? If you have not,
give it a chance. You just need to think of the quality or direction
that you want your year to take. Need some help getting started. Think
about what you might have resolved to do and ask yourself what quality
is necessary for that? Or try a search online for character qualities
and go from there. Lots of people immediately come up with a word that
resonates with them. Others need a bit more time. My best advice is
think of a word, mull it over, and if it keeps showing up, that’s the
one.
Once you come up with your word or intention, what do you do with it? Here are three tips:
- Write it down where you can see it. I put mine on a sticky note and attach it to my computer where I’ll see it every day.
- Share it with someone else, especially if the person will hold you
accountable. Over the years I have shared mine with some of my
mastermind partners or family members, and we talked about why we chose
the words we did.
- Do something that lets you take action on your intention.
What word did you end with? And, if you picked a word last year, how
did that make a difference? Share your word below to make that
commitment and see what you can create in 2015!
ARTICLE REPUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION FROM:
Morna McEver Golletz is the
founder and CEO of the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals
where creative arts entrepreneurs craft business success. Her weekly e-zine
offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from
your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a FREE subscription at http://www.creativeartsprofessionals.com.
I think I'll pick "simplify" as my 2015 word...
