It’s my favorite day of the year – New Year’s Day – when all things are fresh and possible. It is a day of reflection on the highlights of the prior year. It is a day to declutter and re-organize my physical and mental space to make room for new ideas. It is a day to set my focus and theme for the coming 365 days.
A few years ago I discontinued the practice of setting New Year’s Resolutions. I also stopped setting lofty and lengthy lists of goals for the year. They never worked out anyway and only served to overwhelm and disappoint me. Instead I replaced these old, ineffective practices with a more inspiring New Year’s practice: announcing my Power Word for the Year. I wrote about this last year in a blog post and provided a number of examples. I like to select action verbs as they have built-in energy and contribute to momentum. It’s also important to select a positive word rather than a negative one (e.g., Gain instead of Lose). Here’s the list of words that I have selected in the recent past:
- 2016 – PUBLISH
- 2017 – MOVE
- 2018 – LEVERAGE
- 2019 – BUILD
- 2020 – ??????
What To Focus On?
I have to admit that I’ve been struggling with my choice of my power word for this new year. In many ways 2020 feels like it is going to be a pivotal year. I want to select a word that will inspire me, and one that I can put into action and that will make a positive difference in my life and in the lives of those I care about.
I do have some ideas of what might be in store for me in 2020. For example, in early January my mother-in-law will be relocating from California to South Carolina to live closer to us. She will be living in an independent senior living community about 30 minutes from my home. Both my husband and I want to spend quality time with her and help her. Also, my parents are aging, so “family time” and “elder care” are high on my list of priorities for 2020. I also plan on publishing another business book this year. This time, partnering with Mark LeBlanc to coauthor a book on new business development. This will take time, attention, research and resources. I am not new to the publishing process, and I know how much effort, focus and determination it takes.
In 2020 there will be a presidential election in the USA. That’s clearly important. And then of course there’s the Earth, our planet and the climate crisis. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was quoted saying, ‘There is no plan B because there is no planet B.”We need to protect our planet Earth from our own destruction behaviors and collective disregard…before the damage is irreversible.” Perhaps this is the largest priority of all.
My Short List
My business coach has suggested that I adopt the power word “BOLD” for 2020. You know, kick it up a few notches, take greater risks, be more visible and put myself out there. Do I have the energy, courage or interest to do that? Seems a bit self-serving.
My husband suggested the word “CARE” or Caring. That intrigued me and seemed suitable for the year that I see ahead of me. The word “care” sounds a bit soft and not as powerful or as exciting as the word “bold.” On the other hand, perhaps we need to tone down the testosterone and bring more compassion and empathy to how we act, treat each other, and make decisions.
“FOCUS” has also been on the shortlist for my power word for 2020. This past year I have found myself distracted on many occasions with technology, current events, mindless television, and a constant barrage of emails, texts and demands that seem to suck all the oxygen out of the room. It’s hard to concentrate long enough to get anything meaningful done.
I’ve also considered carrying over my power word from last year, “BUILD.” We haven’t gotten very far on the big project we set out in 2019. There is still much to do. Things of this magnitude take time. Perhaps staying the course with a focus on Build would be a productive thing to do for 2020?
Lastly, I’ve also been thinking a great deal about the need to return to democracy, justice, and civility in 2020. Could “DEMOCRACY” be my power word for 2020? If so, could I act on it in a constructive and consistent way without being consumed with partisan discord?
Perchance these four words are related: Bold, Caring, Build. Democracy? Maybe I should add the word “REBUILD” to my short list of power words for 2020?
How to Decide?
I recently read a blog post by the team at Mountain Modern Life offering 5 Tips for Choosing Your Word of the Year. It laid out a very nice process for selecting the word of the year. The 5 steps are: 1) Reflect, 2) Visualize, 3) Make a List (see image to the right), 4) Review and Refine, and finally, 5) Ask Yourself This VERY Important Question. Are you curious what the VERY important question is? It’s a game changer.
Are You Interested, Or Are You Committed?
That is the big question: Are you interested, or are you committed? The blogger goes on to say, “If you’re merely ‘interested’ then chances are you’ll make excuses as to why you’re not putting forth the effort to actually make changes. But if you’re ‘Committed’ to your word, you’ll do whatever it takes to implement that word and bring more of it into your life. If necessary, allow yourself a day or two, even a week to really think about this.”
Watch this video – I found it uplifting, light-hearted, and helpful:
Don’t Skip the Steps
I really wanted to have the answer to share with you by the time I posted this blog post. But the reality is that I need more time to review and refine before I commit. That is, taking the time to do steps 4 and 5. I feel like a little time in nature would do me some good. A walk in the woods perhaps…
p.s. please share with me your Power Word for the Year for 2020. If you need help finding the right word for you, follow the 5 Steps outlined by Mountain Modern Life.
p.s.s. check out my subsequent blog post on February 5th to find out the power word I selected for 2020.
