2022 was a whirlwind. For me, it was a year that was all about transition, faith, sisterhood and embracing change. Now that we are in a new year, I’ve been reflecting on the previous year and what my word of the year was. My word for 2022 was “invitation”. It means, “an action that causes or encourages something to happen”.
I wanted last year to be the year that I fully embraced and invited a lot of change into my life. Change within myself, my career, and relationships. And I think that stepping out on faith by quitting my job with no plan in mind for what was next, allowed me to open my heart to fully inviting all the good that 2022 had in store for me.
Now, in thinking about what my 2023 word of the year will be, I surprisingly already found it and it was through reflection. While the last year was pivotal for me, there was still something that got in the way of the other goals that I didn’t quite reach; me.
I have spent a lot of time getting in my own way. In a lot of ways, I let perfectionism and fear hold me back from staying consistent with a lot of projects or visions I have. I made a lot of strides in 2022 and now that I think of it, I think that I planted a lot of seeds last year. Some of them began to grow, came fully into fruition but a lot of them are still sprouting. In all the change that I invited into my life last year, I realized that discipline and consistency would help me see these seeds fully grow even more.
So, my 2023 word is “move”
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “move” in a variety of ways, but I specifically love the two definitions below.
- “to go in a certain direction with a continuous motion”
- “to take action”
While talking to my friends, it instantly dawned on me that my word is “move”. As I mentioned before, I’ve spent a lot of time getting in my own way. Letting the opinion of others hold me back and the idea of wanting everything to be so perfect. Perfectionism is crippling and I’ve been a victim of it for far too long.
But all the progress that I made in 2022 is what’s gotten me here. It’s what made me realize that my next step is to “move”.
Visualize with your word
When I select my word of the year, I visualize. I take a piece of paper and I write the word in the middle and create branches from it. I try and ask myself, what do I want to do with this word. What can I see coming from this word? How does this word fit into my physical, financial, personal goals and more?
So right now, I’m asking myself how I can move towards the things that I want for myself? How can I move towards bettering my physical health? What friendships/connections do I need to possibly move away from? What movement can I do that will allow me to become more disciplined?
I’m also thinking about how when I am in a moment of doubt, a moment where perfectionism is holding me back and won’t let me forward, I can remember that my focus word for this year is to “move”.
My focus is to “take action”, no matter what. To go in the direction of the things I want in a “CONTINUOUS motion”.
It’s time that I move out of my own way.
Have you found your word yet?
Love Always, Ruth .