Design Your Lens
Part 1
I’ve been hearing from so many people that this year - in particular - they want a do over to the new year. January didn’t look like they had hoped or they got hit with a mountain of yuck in a bunch of different forms. Sound like you, too?
The Lookahead: Who do you want to show up as next year?
I recently shared with you the power of my Phrase of the Year for 2021 and how naming them served as a lens for my decisions and actions throughout the year.
I started writing down these phrases only a few years ago – in 2018.
I remember at the start of 2018, I was so desperate for a January do-over that I bought a new year planner in March just to see if I could turn back the clock.
That was the first year I wrote a guiding intention for the year, during my March restart.
Why I started crafting a phrase of the year?
It was the year our second child was born and there were a lot of tumultuous ups and downs occurring at work for me.
At the start of the year, I knew I couldn’t control most of what was going to happen, but the one thing I needed to keep my focus on was nourishing myself and the ones I love. This wasn’t just about healthy food, although that was a part of it.
It was about not losing myself in the mountain of transitions I could see coming – both good, planned changes like my daughter’s birth and some not planned, not great changes.
Why a phrase?
Over the last few years, I’ve honed my “process” for creating an intention for the year and I’ve gotten clear about what it can do for me. Call it a mantra or an ideal, I see the intention I set as a lens – a perspective – through which I view big and little decisions throughout the year.
The phrase can answer questions like:
- How can I nourish myself in this moment?
- What’s possible when I make this investment in something I really want to do?
- How can I make some magic happen for my family and me right now?
- Am I really hearing my voice or is someone else telling me to do this thing I don’t think feels right?
Those are big questions, but when I use my the chosen phrase as the lens, I can get quiet and focus. My inner knowing can answer and be meaningfully aligned with my intention.
How do you decide on a phrase?
Get quiet. Whatever that means for you.
Breathe into a space where you feel uninterrupted.
And then think ever so simply – what could be in store for you next year?
- Is there a big birthday or celebration that you’re excited about?
- Is there a challenge you see coming and you want to put some boundaries in place for the YOU that shows up for the work?
- Does it look like a pretty normal* year and you want to infuse some excitement and energy to make it special?
(*Of course, I’m not sure what normal is anymore.)
Those are some big questions, but allow yourself to answer the questions honestly.
- What do you notice in your body when you answer them?
- Do your shoulders relax? Do you breathe a little deeper, or a little faster? How does your belly feel?
Look-ahead – What words start to come up around those answers?
In 2018, when I looked ahead at my daughter’s due date, I felt excitement + anxiety.
How could I stay present for my older daughter and be ready to welcome a new person into our family?
Myself and Family were definitely words that needed to be included.
And I wanted to keep top of mind that not only did this new addition need me to feed her, but we all needed to nourish each other.
Nourish Myself and My Family (2018)
In the years that followed, I didn’t have such a big life event – like the birth of a child – but I could still see through lines in each of the years.
In 2019, as a new mom of two, I felt like I was losing focus of what mattered most to me. I was tired of everyone else’s opinions floating around me and I wanted my own voice to be what took up the most space in my head.
Listen to My Voice (2019)
My 2020 phrase – ironically in some respects – was “It’s never too late.” 2020 was a big birthday year for me and I wanted a mindset that transformation can happen at any age to prevail.
And in so many ways, it did. The pivot I’ve taken to be a coach started taking hold during that year because it’s never too late to change.
It’s Never Too Late (2020)
Answer these questions to start your own Phrase of the Year.
Join me for Design Your Lens Part 2 in the next blog post, where we’ll explore the look behind us and values.