Each year I choose a word as a replacement for a series of New Year’s Resolutions. I think of it as a focus word of what I want to do or where I want to go in the coming year. It’s a great reminder when opportunities arise to know if it’s something that will move me forward in the direction I’m travelling, or may take my attention elsewhere and interrupt my flow.
With 2020 only days away, I’ve recently done a review of the past decade. It’s so easy to forget what you’ve achieved, what lessons you’ve learned over that time. So often we overestimate what can be done in a short time but underestimate what can be done when you take baby-steps towards those goals. I live by my daily habit of taking small steps each day working towards larger goals.
When I look at my past decade’s achievements they are many and I can really see that my hard work and dedication has paid off. This year I won the prestigious AICI Jane Segerstrom Award for all my hard work as an image consultant over the past decade. It’s been a big year with a trip to Thailand to train image consultants there with more trips planned to do training in Thailand and India in 2020!
As they say, we overestimate what you can do in a short time, and completely underestimate you can do over a longer period. Taking some time to look back and list out all that I’ve achieved has made me realise just how productive I’ve been as I’m really not great at stopping to celebrate my successes or smell the roses along the way.
If you like the Focus Word idea, rather than lists of New Year’s Resolutions and you’re looking for inspiration – I was reading a Facebook thread in a group where people were sharing their words for the next year, and I thought it could be fun to share their words with you – do any of these words speak to you?
One of the participants of 16 Style Types Your Type of Style program declared that her word of 2020 would be GIFTS – as she is discovering her gifts as a person and has never appreciated them before. I loved this as an idea as we often don’t see our gifts as they are innate and can easily think that they are something everyone can do, when in fact others struggle with what we find so easy.
A friend and organising professional colleague was inspired by this idea and has used the word BRAVE as her word of the year and it has totally changed her business life in many positive ways – you can read about her BRAVE year here!
The word that is calling me to be my focus word of the year for 2020 is SHINE. I’m not exactly sure why yet, but it’s the word that I get the strongest feeling for inside my body. So I’m making 2020 the year to Shine – put some polish on myself and keep polishing, improving and refining what I’ve created in the past and then to stand out from the crowd. I have to tell you, it is a slightly scary word for me and is one that will push me out of my comfort zone as I’m not someone who naturally likes to be in the limelight.
How about you? Have you chosen a focus word for 2020? I’d love to know what it is and why you chose it!
You inspire me so much, Thank you Imogen
Thanks and happy new year to you!
I really like Shine for your word of the year! I am debating between Bold (for my ENTJ self to shine), Brave (to push myself to do things I avoid), and Radical (as in radical changes). They all seem to cluster and any would work.
Interesting – I can see these words intersecting – does one of them encompass the others for you? Which once do you “feel” the most?
I am leaning towards “fresh”. After a difficult decade and turning 60, I feel it’s time to look to the simple & “pure”, like freshly washed bedding and baking out of the oven, to renew the joy of people, memories & things I value and to challenge myself to live each day in my new circumstances with a fresh attitude. A good fresh breeze through the assumptions, sense of old/frumpy for the aging body and introverted habits probably wouldn’t hurt too 🙄
Oooh I love fresh – what a great word! So applicable in so many situations!
As an INFJ, the idea of “shine” is terrifying, but I love it! Whether we aim to shine brightly as a diamond or softly as a pearl, what better “resolve” than to polish up our emotional, spiritual, and physical selves? After decades of neglecting self to take care of others, I’ve finally realised (obviously a slow learner here, haha) that by nourishing myself first, I can better help my husband, children, grandchildren, neighbours, and the world. Happy New Year, Imogen–your articles have inspired and lifted me up during some pretty dark times!! I mean this sincerely and plan to take your “7 Steps to Style” course in 2020. 🙂
Thanks Bonnie – really appreciate your kind words. Have a wonderful new year – yes Shine is scaring me – and now it’s out in public (sometimes I have to do this so I don’t back out)
My phrase (since I seem to end up with something that takes more than one word to express) is “take hold” — take hold of opportunities, take hold of who I am and own it and express it, take hold of life in all its fullness.
My past year was “choose love” — choose to say the kind thing instead of the snarky thing, choose to be generous instead of defensive etc.
The year before was “be brave” — say yes to the challenges that scare me, be willing to step outside my comfort zone.
as a just-turned-65-year-old, I’m pretty excited with where these things are taking me
Love this – what a great way to go into the new year!
The word that speaks most to me this year is thrive. Last year’s word would have to have been persevere. I started 2019 on life support and in a medically induced coma following sustained bleeding in my lungs. I spent time in a rehab hospital to regain some of the strength I lost while bedbound in intensive care, to find I wasn’t strong enough to climb a flight of stairs when I got home. I spent 2 1/2 months house bound, partly due to weakness, partly due to my compromised immune system (following chemotherapy to kill the antibodies that caused the lung bleed). I slowly built up my strength with pulmonary rehab therapy, weight training and Pilates. I dealt with the emotions that came with the realization that I nearly died, and have a rare, chronic and sometimes fatal, autoimmune disease.
This year, I want to thrive. I want to celebrate my recovery by embracing the gifts of the people in my life. I want to continue improving my physical condition to help fight relapses. I want to figure out my purpose – the doctors and nurses called my survival a literal miracle. I figure there’s got to be a reason. Right now, how I’ll do this isn’t clear, but I know the answer will come.
Thanks for doing this post and giving me the opportunity to reflect and plan. I hope 2020 is a great year for you and all your readers!
What a great word! After such hardship it sounds like you are thriving!
Thank you so much! Even though I’m a little late but I hope that I still can choose a word to focus on! Many great options but I’d choose Relationships if I could. Because it feels that if you don’t have good relationships with other people – everything else starts to fall apart very rapidly. I’d really want to choose a few more though if I’m being honest, there’s so much good to choose from – Self-belief, Perseverance, Growth, and Momentum are my favorites! Those are the words that drive you forward and make you strive for good!