Your “One Word” for 2015

Happy New Year!

Were you expecting a “create your goals” post?  I often do share something like that at this time of year, but this time I wanted to keep it simple.

As member of the ICF Raleigh Coaching chapter, we have monthly Cutting Edge Conversations where we all share ideas and resources that help us as coaches, and our clients, continue to be our best selves.   During one of those meetings last year, the idea of having “one word” to focus on for the year was discussed.  We went around the room and shared what word we had (or would) choose for ourselves.  It was interesting to hear how each person was or would be living their life around that word.

Your “one word” becomes your intention for the year.  It gives you a lens to look at life through and make choices around.  Having “one word” to remember keeps it simple and easy.  You can then create your new year’s goals around your word.

My “one word” for 2015?  JOY!  Truth be told, Joy has been my focus for the last couple of months and I could think of no better word to take into the New Year with me.  Why “Joy”?  Joy evokes a feeling of giddiness in me that lifts my spirits just by the mere mention of the word.  When I make choices, see my days, my experiences and my life through the “lens of joy” it shifts my whole mood and way of being.

Choose a word that evokes something positive in you, a feeling you are craving.  Your word will feel good (no “shoulds” please) and be one that is a good fit for where you are in your life right now and where you would like to be.

Need some examples? Here are some words to inspire you to think of  your word for the year:

Peace

Fun

Experimentation

Playful

Nurturing

Giving

Steady

Bold

Live

I would love for you to share your “one word” with me!

Are you letting fear stop you?

Fear is a normal human reaction to change, even change we are choosing!  When clients come to coaching, they are excited about achieving or experiencing something new.    They may be dissatisfied with their career and want one that is more fulfilling, they may be eager to grow their business or enhance their growth opportunities.

Whatever the goal, when faced with taking that commitment step to really push forward, we often stop in our tracks.   Stopping is a normal reaction, how we move forward dispite the fear is what separates successfulness from stuckness.

When faced with fear, here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • What am I truly afraid of?
  • Why am I fearful of that?
  • What is it that I really want?
  • How will this path/solution/strategy I am fearful of get me what I want?
  • Am I really afraid or just resisting?
  • What one tiny step can I take to move forward?

These are questions that I am asking myself these days as I embark on growing my own career/life coaching business.  I have several enticing options to consider and not feeling the connection to any one of them yet.  There is also some fear coming up – for me, it sounds like “will this experience/product deliver what it is I am wanting?  What AM I really wanting for my business?  For my clients?

My next step?  To take some time to answer the main question first – what DO I truly want for my business and my clients?  How will each product/solution get me to that goal?

Feel like fear is stopping you from going for what you want?  What will be YOUR first/next step?

 

You can make a difference!

Almost all of my clients come to career coaching because they are yearning to make a difference in the work they do, and in the life they lead.  They often feel that in order to do that, they need to change positions or careers.  While that may be true in order to have the big impact you want to truly have, I believe you can make a difference right now, right where you are!

I just read the book Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg where one of the characters, Elner Shimfissle, is an inspiration to everyone she ever met just by her wonderous curiosity and interest in the human spirit, nature and the world.   In small ways, she touched the lives of everyone she met just by being kind, offering support, and being fully present.

We can each do that every day.  It does not have to be a big impact on many if you are in a career or have a lifestyle that does not leave you time or give you the resources right now.  It can be a small impact on some that can have the kind of positive ripple effect that you can’t even imagine.

As you approach 2013, make this the year you do make a difference, each and every day, from right where you are!