I am no longer committing to lots of New Years resolutions. I am not convinced they work. I feel like often they end up being a bunch of expectations we hold for ourselves, that we don’t meet, and then beat ourselves up for not achieving.
Last year, I decided to hold a couple of words for myself instead. And I wasn’t explicit on what they should look like, I just wanted to hold them and see if I could lean into them a little more. The words for 2021 were Power and Joy. And reflecting back I can see all sorts of occasions where I felt powerful and joyful. I can even go so far to say I am now powerful and joyful.
This year I am holding another word for myself (or rather, once again, two words): self-compassion. Self-compassion is so often the place I land with clients, it’s the healing balm for so many of life’s challenges. And this year I choose to hold it for myself. Again, I don’t completely know what it will look like, but I hope to find a myriad ways I can lean into it.
And so, I’d like to invite you to find a word, or two, to hold for yourself this year, and perhaps share it with a few trusted people in order to keep the word alive.