My word for 2017

Happy New Year lovely people!

Well, here we are again, at the start of a new year and choosing the direction we would like it to take. I always love this time of year- the anticipation and excitement of the potential a new year has to offer. I especially love the reminder that you can change your life to what you want it to be every year... though that isn't just limited to January of course - you can change your life any day you want!

Firstly I'm going to do a quick review of my 2016 word - earnest. Looking back at my words of the year - this was the first I chose that was something to 'be'. Alleviate (2013), inspirit (2014) and give (2015) all felt like actions - things to do to make things happen/better. In comparison earnest felt like something I should be to get through the year - and its definitely helped me with a lot of aspects - work, my 366 project and starting a new lighting design diploma. It also encouraged me when the world was being the world and I wasn't always happy with what was happening... a reminder to stay true to my feelings and to focus on my original intent rather than be distracted (ha) by the emotional landscape around me. So overall, a successful word choice I think, hurrah!

Moving into 2017 I feel like I'm starting in a much more secure position than last year emotionally... yet even with saying that, it took me a good while to settle on my word - even bouncing around a Thesaurus and keeping my mind and options open. I finally settled on it during a conversation with my husband where he said something so obvious and simple, that I felt a little silly that it took me so long to establish what the intuitive feelings I had were pushing me towards.

So here is my word for 2017...

I originally was going along the lines of 'self' - the idea of being true to myself or being authentic to myself... but somehow Thomas and I were talking about the idea of being happy and I realised that happy was what I really wanted to be. And to do that, all I really have to do, is get out of my own way and give myself permission to be happy.

My dear friend Alyssa has also been super inspiring to me recently with her #livenownotwhen hashtag on Instagram and it got me to thinking that I'm always putting something else before my happiness.

"I'll be happier when I can drive." "I'll be happier when I weigh 2 stone less". "I'll be happier with more money." "I'll be happier with, when, in the future... etc.." 

So this year - rather than giving myself something to 'do' to make things better, I'm going to give myself permission to be happy - and its as simple as that... short term at least.

However, as someone who has to maintain my mental health, I also know that happiness is a little more complicated long term... you have to plan your happiness and know what makes you happy - so having this word will also impact my long term decisions for self care with an intent to feel happy in the future. I'm excited about that as a lot of my approach to mental health has been about 'getting through' rather than 'being happy' and I think that mental switch is actually a huge deal in terms of my thinking... the idea that I can and am allowed to be happy... its a very big deal.

As well as choosing my word, I've also embraced my inner hippy with a tarot spread for the year. I didn't actually choose the Strength card for my year card, it jumped... and when that card jumps at you, you take it! I also love that the Unicorn card popped up for my year card too - they both support happy rather splendidly I feel, as I'm pretty sure it will take all my strength and spirit to remember to put my own hapiness first. Overall from this spread, 2017 looks intense and varied with lots of major tarot cards as well as grounding animal spirits. I'll be going into each months cards as they come along but so far January looks steady, practical and logical, which I'll also take!

So there we are, I think 2017 could be very interesting indeed having set such a positive outset intention - but what about you? Have you chosen a word for the year? Tell me about it in the comments and once again, happy new year to you all :) x

My word for 2016

Eep, so here we are - a new year! Happy New Year to you - I hope its the year you dream it will be. 2015 was such an amazing year for us and I'm excited to see what 2016 holds for me and for my Husband too (not bored of saying husband yet).

It took me a lot longer than its taken in previous years but I'm very excited to say that I finally have a word, woo! For a while after writing my last post I thought it was a different word - become - and although that word terrified me as it was pretty hefty, it took my final session with a counselor (I'm going to write another post on this... don't worry its coming) for me to realise that I'd already become the person I want to be - I just have to keep working on it - the hardest part is over. So rather than being a word for a year  - become was unintentionally my word for December 2015 - and what a word it was. 

So where does that leave me for 2016?  Well - initially back to being a bit flummoxed if I'm honest - become seemed like the perfect word to work with - but it really wasn't relevant anymore. And as I said to my counselor - I feel like the next 12 months are going to be so important, although I couldn't tell you why or whats going to happen, I just feel it.

So I started with words like - genuine, real, honest - and once again bounced around some words on Theasaurus.com where I saw my word a few times before I properly looked at it and thought 'huh that's it.' In fact, I was pretty stubborn about it for a while, searching for other words even when I was nearly certain but every word I looked at somehow seemed to come back to the same place... So, with the universe trying to tell me something and me finally listening - here is my word for 2016.

earnest  

1. serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous.
2. showing depth and sincerity of feeling

As well as loving the definition - I also read this amazing quote not too long after deciding earnest was my word.

"Earnest implies having a purpose and being steady and eager in pursuing it."

It seems silly to have a quote that seem to focus on a purpose when I don't really know what the purpose is, however what I do know now, more so than this time last year, is that I am on the right path. I haven't gone far along it yet, so I really don't know where its leading, but the end of last year was such a huge shift for me in terms of 'where I am and where I want to be' that I know now that if I do start to take myself and the things that I can do seriously, with intent and more importantly, feeling... then I don't think much will be able to stop me. I just need to do the work and be patient and I think this year that's what I'm going to be doing.

Isn't that exciting?! I have no idea whats going to happen this year - especially compared to how eventful 2015 was - but I don't think I've ever felt so excited to see how a year turns out.

How about you? How are you feeling about this coming year? Do you have a word to help you through? Let me know in the comments!

Forever Autumn