Are you a big fan on new years resolutions?
I used to make them every single year, and every year I would inevitably break them and my type A perfectionist nature would feel like an utter failure.
"Go to the gym 5x a week." FAILURE.
"Go vegan." Ha, that one lasted a month.
"Practice yoga 3x a week." Nope.
Sound familiar?
And it got me thinking -- why do we start our years out making a resolution that is clearly well intentioned but will inevitably not be able to fully commit to (and often forget about 2 weeks later)?
There has to be a better way to be INTENTIONAL with our upcoming year -- and that's why I started a NEW TRADITION heading into this last year that really stuck with me and helped build POSITIVE momentum.
What's this you say, Amanda?
Hush, hush, I'll tell you.
CHOOSE YOUR WORD OF THE YEAR.
I went into 2017 with the word GROWTH.
I started my business at the very end of 2015 and the first year of ANY new adventure is a freaking rollercoaster and filled with ALL the kinks.
I was failing forward like crazy and had definitely started to build a foundation for my business but I had (and have) some seriously HUGE goals and I knew that the only way I would be able to achieve them was with MASSIVE GROWTH.
What I didn't realize was just how much of that growth needed to be INTERNAL instead of EXTERNAL.
I don't know about you but when I hear the word growth, I think numbers and a higher income. And while that certainly did happen this year, the external growth ONLY happened AFTER I had done a shit ton of work on my INNER GROWTH.
What areas did this include?
- Inner work on my positive self talk
- Serious work on my money mindset (*cough* scarcity mindset)
- Belief in myself as a leader
- Working "as if" I was was already where I wanted to be.
- Developing a routine and a work ethic that was IN LINE with my goals. It turns out that big dreams without action are just DREAMS.
- Allowing myself to DREAM BIG and crash into the fear instead of allowing it to paralyze me.
...and so much more.
2017 was certainly a year of massive growth for me and my team.
And because of all of the self development I did as a PERSON, and all the work I did on building up my MINDSET and BELIEF SYSTEMS, I was able to grow my team into a group of 100+ women who also want to turn their passion for health & fitness into a business or side hustle, help over 200 women BUST THROUGH THEIR EMOTIONAL EATING & ditch the yo yo dieting once and for all within my Live Your F*ck YES Life Challenges and financially, I was able to pay off ALL of our credit card debt, and start to really contribute to our family.
So as we head into 2018, I've been thinking a lot about what I want my word of the year to be. And through the prompts I will share with you shortly, I decided on
UNAPOLOGETIC
So often, we (myself included) apologize for the way we are and the things that light us up.
And I realized this year that I've been doing that way more frequently than I realized -- and enough is enough.
I'm CLAIMING MY TRUTH and officially going BALLS TO THE WALL with who I am, what I believe in and what is important to me and I'm refusing to hold myself back.
If that means I lose a few followers on social media because I'm too much of a crazy goofball baby grandma who swears and talks about poop, so be it.
No more dimming my light because I'm afraid people won't like me.
This gal is officially going to show up every day UNAPOLOGETICALLY HERSELF. So gear up.
Now, how does one even start figuring out what their word of the year might be?
I'm glad you asked!
Here's a combination of exercises to help you discover yours:
1. Grab a journal and allow yourself to free write -- close your eyes and think about your DREAM day. What are you doing? Who are you with? How do you feel? Got it in your head? Write down everything you're experiencing on a piece of paper.
2. Think about your upcoming year. What do you know for sure will be happening in 2018? What do you want to manifest for your year? What are some things that could happen that would LIGHT YOU UP INSIDE?
3. Look over the words you wrote in the last 2 steps. Did any feelings resonate throughout? Any particular words get written more than once? Bonus? Check out this list of words (inspired by the lovely Susannah Conway) and see which ones pop out to you most! Circle the 5 ones that really resonate with you.
4. From the words you circled, I want you to spend some time journaling out what each of them represents to you and WHY feeling that way would make you feel your BEST in 2018. What does it represent to you? Why is that important?
You'll likely find yourself gravitating towards one or two words that really hit home for you.
And from there -- the way to officially choose your word is to answer one simple question: WHICH ONE LIGHTS ME UP THE MOST?
That's your word of the year.
I would LOVE to hear which word you came up with!
Share in the comments below (or in our Facebook community!) so I can support you heading into the new year!
Xo Amanda