Here’s how to make this a great year (really!)
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Welcome 2022!
As we step into a shiny new year, most people I speak to are glad to bid farewell to 2021. Even for those who had a good year, the reality of living through a second year of COVID, not to mention political issues that swirled, affected us all.
And while a new year always feels full of possibility, we now find ourselves in the midst of a new round of pandemic challenge. With it comes uncertainty.
I believe that this first week of the year is an opportune time to take action that can make this the best year possible.
Take some quiet time now to reflect and set intentions. Doing that will help you to live your best life in the year ahead.
Three steps to optimize your 2022
1. Choose a word to guide your year.
Long-time readers will be familiar with my belief in the impact of choosing a word-of-the-year. Here’s the post where I describe the process, that includes a number of examples.
When you use this short, powerful process, you ask yourself important questions that help you focus on what really matters to you now, and the energy you want to bring into your life in 2022.
2. Think about what it will look like to live your word this year.
With your word selected, it’s time to set intentions that align with that word or theme.
If, for instance, Learning was your word, your intentions could include broadening your understanding of the world, stimulating your brain, and experiencing novelty.
If your word was Savor (as mine was a few years back), your intentions could be to slow down, to fully experience things each day, and cultivate appreciation.
Your word may call on you to be thoughtful, or courageous, or curious, or calm, or active — tune in to what fits for you.
When you set intentions, you focus on who you want to become. This awareness will also inspire you and support you to bring positive energy into everything you do.
3. Make it concrete.
Now it’s time to get specific about how you want to implement your intentions. Think about what will both satisfy you and will be doable.
If, for instance, you chose Self-Love to guide your year, one way you might live into that theme could be to up your self-care. This would be the time to decide on ways to actually do that.
You might choose to include walking 3 times per week, meditating for 5 minutes each morning, and visiting a museum each month. Whatever you choose, schedule the activities into your calendar. Start with the first 3 months of the year, and continue or modify the plan from there. (For instance, in the spring you might decide to increase your meditation time, or add an activity like tending a garden.)
If your theme of Self-Love also inspired you to bring more creativity into your life, you might implement that intention by first exploring classes that are available (art, or music, or photography, or cooking, etc.), then scheduling time each week to take the class and practice between classes.
The outcomes may amaze you
When we set intentions and commit to them, we are able to bring changes we truly desire into our lives.
After choosing your word, why not print it out and post it where you will see it each day? This will keep it top of mind as you move though the year.
You might invite a friend to embark on this process with you, too, so that you can support one another to stay committed throughout the year, even as the specific ways you live into your themes evolve.
The more you stay connected to your word and intentions, and plans to follow through on the specifics, the more the outcomes will excite you.
Imagine looking back next December and smiling at the year you lived and the ways you made your intentions a reality.
No matter what surprises come along (because surprises are inevitable), this approach will support you to make 2022 a meaningful — and maybe even magical — year.
May your new year be filled with joy, vibrant health and abundant creative energy.
