A few years ago I made a resolution to stop making resolutions. And funnily enough, that's been the only resolution I've been able to actually stick to.
I read a post on LinkedIn some time ago about using single words as intentions for the year that would cover all aspects of one's life, rather than setting goals related to health, fitness, food, learning or whatever it was you thought would be a good "goal" for the year ahead (I cannot tell you how many times "lose weight", "gym x5 days per week" and "eat healthier" were at the top of my resolutions list). To me, this way of thinking made perfect sense given how many times my resolutions had failed to make it past Jan 31st. To set a resolution is to decide to either do or not do something. Frankly, this bores me. I can do and not do things all the time, I don't need NYE to roll around for me to make a few grandiose statements. You see, for me, I didn't want to just do or not do, I wanted to BE. I wanted a new experience, to BE the type of person who threw myself wholeheartedly into something. I wanted to BE the type of person who grabbed life and all it's opportunities with both hands and started running. I wanted to BE more in tune with my values, living these outwardly, shouting them from the roof tops.
With my values firmly in mind and heart, I set my first annual word. It was back in 2020 (which feels like 40 million years ago): the pandemic was merely a whisper on foreign shores, I was less than 6 months into a NS/EL role at a very large 8 room and 181 place kindergarten and long day care service, my team of 50 and I were preparing for our imminent A&R, and I was studying my masters while working full time and being a mum of 2.
The word I landed on was Courage. I leant into that word with everything I had in me, fully committing myself to BEing Courage. I lived and breathed Courage. I read books and blogs on Courageous Leadership. I took Brene Brown's Dare to Lead course (sadly online as the pandemic had effectively shut Melbourne down by that stage). I wrote about my experiences and I shared my stories with others. Courage as an annual intention was a huge success, bringing me some truly amazing opportunities and blessings, and I bounced out of 2020 ready to take on the world.
For 2021, I chose the word Health, intending to BE in both the mental and physical capacity. I was determined to BE a happier and healthier version of myself (again, it wasn't that I wasn't these things, but they were surface level, and I was ready for the BEing experience). 2021, however, had other plans and I found myself flourishing professionally but floundering personally. My relationships were wonderful, I had great support networks around me cheering me on, but extended Melbourne lock downs took a toll and I found myself in a place of burnout. True burnout is rough and try as I might, in order to BE Health I needed to let go of the intention and just focus on the tiny ant steps* of healing ahead of me.
As I entered 2022 in a state of complete mental disarray, I found myself drawn to the word Kindness. Kindness is one of my core values (as are Courage and Integrity), but interestingly it was not really something I had ever thought about or applied to myself, and certainly not something i felt I could ever BE (though I believe I am a very genuinely kind person, but you know now that it's more than that, it's deeper, right!) Feeling unmotivated and exhausted thanks to my old mate burnout (I highly recommend this book BTW if you too have been effected by burnout) I figured now was as good a time as any to see what an intention of Kindness could do for me. Kindness had me slow down, breathe, take stock of what I had and what I was doing. Kindness helped me refocus on the impact I was having both personally and professionally and it helped me BE a more present and engaged mum, partner, friend, advocate, writer, creative, learner, employee, and team mate. BEing Kindness was exactly what was needed for 2022.
And now, as we enter 2023, I'm in a stronger place internally and I'm ready for the good stuff. I'm ready for Growth: spiritually, mentally, physically and thinking-ly (you'll get used to me making up words when grammatically correct English simply won't cut it - Red Ruby Scarlet taught me this neat trick). I am ready to BE more, to grow in ways that I haven't yet, to try new things, to be open to new learning. And it's not to say that I haven't done all of these things in the past 20 years to some degree, I'm just ready now for this to be my focus, personally and professionally, for the next 12 months. I'll be documenting my journey over the next year here in my blog, as well as my thinking around leadership in the early childhood sector and other interesting topics, and I certainly hope you'll join me.
So, tell me, what is your word? What and who do you intend to BE in 2023? If you're excited about the possibilities of setting a 2023 Intention Word, checkout my free 6 question reflective resource below that will provide you with the framework you need to find the best intention for you!
*I borrow this phrase from the ever inspiring Dr. Anne Kennedy.
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