If you’ve been following my blog for a while you’ll know that instead of setting specific goals for 2017, I instead chose a word to set my intention for the year. The word I chose was balance.
I wasn’t sure how this concept would work for me and I’m pleased to say it’s been an excellent source of support in what has been a challenging year. My personal and professional goals have changed over the year yet my focus on achieving balance has remained a constant form of guidance that has supported my decisions. I’ve considered what balance means to me in terms of balancing different areas of my life and in terms of achieving balance within each area (I can be fairly obsessive when I find a new interest!). Having this focus has been useful in managing my time and energy and has been particularly beneficial when one area in my life has had the potential to take over (e.g. busy work periods or new gym programmes). It’s still something I want to work on but I’m in a much better place than I was 12 months ago thanks to the learning and experimenting this year.
Another word has emerged as a theme for the year which has helped me, particularly in the latter part of the year, and is something I realise is important to me at the moment. This word is freedom. It may seem ironic given that this is the year I got married which some people joke marks the end of freedom, but in my situation I now have a great level of freedom thanks to the personal journey and the journey I’ve been on with my relationships. Much of this is giving myself permission to have freedom, but I’m also much clearer on the freedom those who love and support me want to give me in order for me to flourish. I find this incredibly empowering and exciting and I want to make the most of the opportunities I have thanks to my sense of freedom.
As having a word to set an intention for the year seems to be working well for me, I’ve decided to choose a new word for 2018. I’m going to be focusing on being courageous. A few people have commented on how brave I’ve been to become self-employed and pursue things I’m passionate about, but I know there I things I hold myself back from. This is sometimes due to a fear of failure, or a fear of being judged, or worrying I’m not good enough.
I’m going to try to push myself outside of my comfort zone more frequently in 2018 and use my courageousness to help me make progress towards my goals. I’ll be using courageousness to encourage me every Sunday when I plan my upcoming week, and I’ll be using it to help me make decisions every day and make the most of opportunities that excite me.
What word could support you in 2018? How might you be able to put this into practice?
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