It’s that time of the year – the New Year is almost here and we farewell 2022. I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you for coming here, reading and commenting on my posts, joining my programs and sharing your style journey with me.
After the past 3 years of Covid impacting my life heavily I’ve felt a bit like I’ve been in a holding pattern, particularly this last year, as things have gotten back to the “new normal” but really, life is still different and will be for at least another year or so as this virus keeps mutating.
After pondering some time on what my focus word for 2023 would be and reading plenty of lists of possibilities and playing with a couple, the one that jumped out at me, that felt aligned and spoke of what I’d been thinking about is the word CULTIVATE.
Cultivate Through My Work…
Cultivate New Ideas
New ideas and ways of doing things is something I love to spend time thinking about and cultivating. I’ve had a few new ideas and will be launching my Level Up in Style program in early 2023 as well as creating a couple of new masterclasses and mini-courses that are currently in percolation phase.
When people ask me where I get my ideas from, it’s really about keeping my eyes and ears open to everything, to reading widely, to taking online courses, to listening to podcasts that stimulate me to think about a range of topics, some which may not at first seem related to style, but can be applied to it in some way or other.
Cultivate My Program Members
I love helping my clients and program members grow, taking their style (and hopefully life) to a better level, one that helps them get what they want out of life. I love creating connections with them and getting to know them and their lives. Understanding people helps me to be a better image consultant and without that connection, it’s hard to give the best advice as there is no one way to be stylish.
Cultivate My Image Consultant Students and Graduates
I love mentoring, it’s something I’ve discovered in the past few years that it really brings me great joy. I love seeing people who are passionate about colour, style and image, like I am, turn their passion into something that creates a positive impact in the world. This is why I love mentoring and sharing my extensive experience. Along with creating comprehensive image and colour programs for personal stylists and image consultants, I want to spend more time mentoring people in my industry who are as passionate as me so they too can fulfill their potential.
Cultivate On a Personal Level…
Cultivate Friendships
I’ve spent some time recently after hardly seeing anyone outside of my family for most of the last 3 years (and even then barely seeing anyone but my husband and kids) I’ve really felt like I need to create more connections and cultivate friendships as it’s super easy for me, an introvert who is happy to spend an inordinate amount of time by myself inside my own head, to forget to ever arrange to see friends or develop new friendships and connections.
Cultivate Family Relationships
It’s always important (in my book) to keep on working on your close relationships. My kids are almost grown and I have limited “daily” time left with them as I’m sure some will be moving out of home in the next few years. So I love to spend time cultivating my relationships with them and their partners.
My Dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and he and my Mum live an 8 hour drive away from me, and over the past few years because of Covid and my parents being elderly and not wanting to get sick, I’ve only seen them a couple of times. Given my Dad’s state of health and how fast his memory has started deteriorating in the past year, it’s important that I spend more time with them while he still remembers who I am.
And of course, I want to continue to spend quality time with my husband and cultivate our relationship.
Cultivate My Health and Fitness
This year I managed to shift the Covid Kilos that I’d gained the previous 2 years and have gotten heaps stronger again as I’ve discovered the form of exercise that really works for me and my body at this stage in my life. Pre-covid (and the discovery of arthritis in my lower back), I was doing more HIIT and high-impact training, but that no longer felt right and my back was sore all the time. It didn’t feel like it was in harmony with my body. Fortunately, a pilates and yoga studio moved into my neighbourhood and I’ve been doing reformer pilates and yin yoga for over a year and I really feel so much better for it. I’ve become heaps stronger and yin yoga is the best form of exercise for switching off my overactive brain (plus giving me the stretch-out that my body needs).
I’ve given up sugar too this past year (except for Christmas dessert, which is a once-a-year treat) and I feel way less hungry as my blood sugar is much more stable. So I will continue to cultivate my health and fitness in 2023.
Cultivate My Creative Outlets
One way for me to switch off my brain is to do some sort of “art therapy” and that for me has been painting (this year I started to learn how to do watercolour painting) and I have really started to get back into sewing clothes again. I’m enjoying the process as well as the results and will continue on with this and keep cultivating my skills and will be on the lookout for a course here and there to learn something new as well.
And I may even get into my garden a little more and do some cultivating there too!
Finding Your Focus
So that’s my focus for 2023.
Do you have a focus word for next year? Here’s a handy list
What is it? I’d love to know what it is and why you chose it!
Happy New Year!
Happy 2023! I LOVE “Cultivate”, Imogen! It’s spot on target for who you are and how you operate! I’ve chosen two words, “Yes, and…”. Together, they are known as the first rule of improv, and that’s what life has felt like in 2022. I need to roll with the punches rather than fighting them and giving up my power with “But”. Although it may sound odd, I want to encourage myself to be more open to new ideas and ways of working, playing, exercising and loving life in what will be my 60th year. (Next week!)
Love this for you Liz! I see you as a very “yes and” person!
Imogen, I love your idea of a focus word. It’s like having a color palette: a framework that you can review and compare. I have chosen “Finish” as my focus word. I am very adept at starting, but you know the saying about the road to hell…
I realize that I would feel such a sense of accomplishment if I would just finish some of the myriad projects that I juggle. Most recently I purged my craft room (for the third time) because I woke up to the realization that those projects were never even started, much less finished. So I don’t need to keep reminding myself of that misstep. My brother and sister in law are in poor health. I need to take care of any unfinished business with them.
So these are a start…to finish. Thanks for the prompt.
Sounds like a good word for you!
I only got as far as ‘D’ when my word leapt out and then trying to move past it to read the rest was impossible. It’s…….. Delight. After so much turmoil in the past three years and this last year particularly trying, my focus has to be about embracing the smaller aspects of life. So I intend to delight in what is around me, what I accomplish on a daily basis no matter the size and the opportunity to spend any time with my small family.
Happy 2023.
Delightful word! I hope you find a little delight daily
Hi, I just happened across this site while looking for ways to “Allow” me to forget my kyphosis. Having said that, it really doesn’t bother me as long as I don’t look behind me and I’ve been doing far too much of that of late. I have chosen the word ALLOWING because as you have stated, the past few years have been difficult in many ways and I really need to allow myself to make a lot of life changes. I’m 73 this year and still feel like I’m in my 50s, except I have osteo arthritis as well as scoliosis and a kyphosis, arthritic feet which literally pulled me to a sudden stop, all the things I loved to do are now in my past and I need to allow myself to find new and exciting things to fill my days. I’ve always liked cloths and am definitely not a follower of fashion, I have more pants in my wardrobe than dresses and love big sloppy sweaters so I’m allowing you to take me on a journey of renewal.
I love that you still feel like you’re in your 50s – and you can allow yourself to do what you want!