Why would you even bother setting a word of the year?
It wasn’t that long ago that I was asking the same questions of my hubby Matt. For at least a decade, we have dedicated some time at the end of the calendar year to review our year, including the esoteric and physical accomplishments and challenges. We choose what we want to release and we call in the new. We also choose a word of the year for the next year.
I used to resist this process. I can’t tell you why, only simply that perhaps I wasn’t ready for the depth of the conversations, I wasn’t able to articulate what I really wanted to create in my life. We would set a time and something would happen to derail the time. The babysitter would be late, we would have a clashing appointment or we simply never made it to the reflection/planning session. It just didn’t make it high enough on my priority list.
In fact, this was the first year that I drove the planning and reflection session! We also did it mid-December, which is the earliest we’ve ever done it. We sat with big pieces of paper, post its, and markers and we went for gold. The kids flowed around us, we stopped for cups of tea and we kept going. We both had a strong drive to do the process and nothing stopped us. It’s amazing what intention can do!
So why do I share all of this? I want you to see that even if you don’t currently do any annual reflection or create a word for your year – it is never too late! In fact, although it’s nice to set a word at the start of a new year, sometimes that is a time when we are already feeling too much pressure and expectation – new year’s resolutions, health & diet goals, new year, new me type narratives.
So I think the best time to create your word is when you are ready to do it.
For me, it makes sense to do it at the start of the year. It aligns with my planning, it helps me to stay focussed on what I really want to create and it supports my subconscious in bringing me opportunities and experiences that will fulfil that theme.
Would you like to know the process we go through? I am developing a downloadable template that you will be able to take and work through on your own or with a partner, but for now – here are the simple steps we follow:
Step 1. Complete an individual reflection of our year using these three questions – What have I created this year, What am I ready to let go of and What am I bringing to life next? Consider your word of the year and how it impacted all of this too. My word for 2022 is GROWTH and it has really come in for me in so many ways.
Step 2. Share what you received in your individual reflections.
Step 3. Review your current activities and complete a clean up process. What will you keep, outsource and eliminate from your calendar?
Step 4. Review our life vision for 2023. This is a one sentence description that illustrates your end goal. Ours is to create and enjoy our fullest and best life. Take a moment to receive what might be your word for 2023. Don’t force it, allow it to come in. The word that came in for me is EMBODY.
Step 5. Brainstorm your values. Use post its or separate pieces of paper and come up with as many as possible. Then distill them into themes and identify your top 3-5. Ours are creativity, family, freedom, vitality, and abundance.
Step 6. Identify your first needle-moving actions that will bring you closer to the vision.
Step 7. Complete that action, and identify the next step. Keep going!
This is a very simplified version of what we do, but you can definitely work through it, making your own adjustments to create a powerful process and new intentions.
As a small part of this process, I will be hosting a free session in January, which will allow you to receive your intuitive 2023 vision. For those that attended my reflection session in December, it will build from this. For those who want to come in fresh, it’s the perfect time to get that vision on paper. I do this process a little differently to many coaches, we use a powerful shamanic meditation to allow you to enter your subconscious and retrieve the gold that is waiting to be unearthed. The vision will reveal an inventory of the things that are in your deepest heart to create – some of these things you have never consciously considered before – how cool is that!
Some of my own best creations, like writing a personal blog and creating a women’s empowerment business were born out of this visioning process. It’s really incredible stuff!
If you would like to join my free 2023 Intuitive Visioning session, simply click this link to register.
If you do my planning process above in your own time, I’d to hear how you went!
Wishing you lots of love and laughter as we end 2022, and bring forth 2023.
Tash x
P.S. If you’re searching for your tribe and you’re tired of trying to go it alone, have you considered joining my six-month container – we kick off again at the end of January. Click here to learn more about Blossoming Woman.