My Word for 2023 is…
My word for 2023 is still not chosen as I write this. I’m hoping that putting form to thought will help me decide.
The dozen words I’m choosing from.
I enjoy this time in between Christmas and New Years Eve with people sharing the word they’ve chosen to inspire and guide them through the next 12 months. This year the popular choice has been “Health”. Other words chosen by friends and followers are Replenish, Trust, Try, Wait, Finish, Believe, Consolidate, Time, Patience, Resourceful, Integrity, Pause, Renew and this fabulous one I had to look up; Ikigai. It means “a state of wellbeing that arises from devotion to activities one enjoys, which also brings a sense of fulfilment. What a great word and sentiment to live by!
I’ve been mulling over the dozen words you’ll see above. “Health” was what I started with, but I have better success with this exercise when the word is an action, so I thought “Move” was more appropriate. I do need to move more...
I thought about “One” and “Now” because I tend to do too many things at once and I’d like to get better at concentrating on what I have to hand and finishing that before progressing to the next, one thing at a time.
“Right” is a funny one. It’s not about being right, it’s about looking for what’s right instead of picking what’s wrong. As much as having an eye for detail and being able to spot errors from a mile is a great skill to have, it becomes ingrained to look for what’s wrong, especially when that’s part of your job, as it is with mine. That’s all very well, but I don’t want that to become my mindset. There are plenty of times when I identify things that are wrong and in doing so I overlook what’s right. So I want to be more aware of that and I think that by consciously looking for what’s right instead of what’s wrong, there will be a bettering in me, becoming a more positive person.
Speaking of being more aware, that’s precisely the basis for choosing the word(s) “Consider/Considerate” as candidates for my word for 2023. If I was to act less on autopilot, and take a second to consider what I’m about to say - or do - before I take action, I think my life will change dramatically.
“Experiment” was my way of combining all of the above. I thought I could have six lots of two month experiments over the course of the year. For January and February I could potentially have alcohol free months and see what effect that has on my health. For March and April I could add a half hour walk each day to see if that has a marked impact. May and June I could practice being more considerate and assess if my consciousness improves through pausing before I speak and act. July and August would be devoted to improving my focus, by promising to do just the one thing at a time. And so on…. Ugh. That’s just too hard. Can that!
I am liking the concept of “Flow”. I have big plans for 2023, some of which I’ve already put in motion. In my quest to reach my goals I want to stay in flow. There is a fine line between being ambitious and pushy. I don’t want to be the latter. I also want to be discerning in moments where I experience discomfort. Is it fear and anxiety at approaching the unknown, or is it that I’m uncomfortable with my modus operandi? I put myself “out there” regularly, sometimes twice over. I want to be sure I’m in flow when I do this.
So there you have it. I’m choosing to flow through 2023!
If you haven’t yet let me know your word for 2023, leave a comment below.