2018: A Knight of Swords year

For the past six years I’ve chosen a word to help ‘guide’ me through the year ahead. 2017 and 2018 however were a little different in that I chose a Tarot card too! Boy - did I underestimate the importance of that decision ha.

My word for the year (which I neglected to share here anywhere online oops) was FOCUS. I knew I had a lot of work to do with my Lighting Diploma and at work, and I also thought that it would be perfect for my photography too - my intentions were to knuckle down, focus on my goals and get to where I wanted to be in a sensible fashion.

AND then, on this day last year - I pulled the Knight of Swords as my Tarot card for the year. He’s still sat in my purse now. I felt a little frustrated pulling a Knight as the court cards are not my most favoured and I often struggle with their application - my 2017 card was the major ‘Strength’ card and I understood that and its application (and necessity frankly) very well. I was pleased to see a sword though - the suit of thoughts - it was indeed going to be a year of thinking and of trying my best to focus them.

What I underestimated though, was the knight himself. Knights are people of action, they charge, they fight, they defend and they honour. They move forward towards their goals and they do it with a straightforward intent. The knight of swords especially knows exactly the way they want to move forward - their thinking is already done and they have decided on a course of action which they are implementing with their full force and power.

And boy did I move forward at pace in 2018 - I charged into a engineering degree which I’m still sure could possibly be a huge mistake ha, we threw ourselves into raising two little kittens in the Summer (I’ll share more about those soon I promise) and I’ve thrown myself into the deep end with work and life in general. 2018 flew by but I think that perhaps rather than the time itself moving faster, it was me barreling through it, harnessing the Knight of Swords and trying my best to hold on for life.

Do you have a word for the year? How did your word for 2018 go for you? I did indeed focus, I had to, but perhaps not on the things that I initially thought I would haha.

Check in soon for my word and card for 2019 - I’m hoping the tarot card I pull later this evening is going to be a little less intense (though now I’ve said that… I’ve probably jinxed it!) and a little more aligned with the word I’ve chosen haha.

Happy new year everyone!!

Previous Words

2018: Focus (and Knight of Swords tarot card)
2017: Happy (and Strength tarot card)
2016: Earnest
2015: Give
2014: Inspirit
2013: Alleviate

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!

My word of 2015 Final Review

Yup, its that time of year again - nearly time for a new year and a new word, can you believe it? I've been working through my Unravelling workbook from Susannah Conway and as I got to the 2016 section I came to a complete stop because I honestly hadn't even thought about a word for 2016 yet and I was flummoxed. 2015 has been so incredibly busy, next year hadn't even entered my mind yet.

My word for 2015 - GIVE

For 2015 I chose the word give. And although my intentions were truly good and I was in a very good place when I wrote my post about it in July - the wedding totally derailed me. Which seems like a bizarre thing to say - but holy wow, weddings are tough! Especially if you're already anxiety/depression/meltdown prone like me ha. Add in the fact that from May, we had a large event each month through to September - a welcoming party for my favourite one year old, two hen parties and two weddings (including ours). Each month I gave and I gave and each event was beautiful, magical, so fun and memorable... and our wedding well, it was perfect. I keep trying to think of other words - but it really was perfect, everything about it.

But even though our day was truly amazing, I've been exhausted ever since - totally beat. Creating something perfect is hard - and we really did create it - we made as much as we could, we put together as much as we could, it was all I thought about for months and all I worked on too in my spare time. I gave it my all, and ultimately, I forgot to leave a little bit to get me through the rest of the year. Oops.

So for 2016 - I've decided that I don't need to beat 2015 - because it really has been the amazing year I wanted and hoped for. Instead I need a word that isn't quite so um, generous and well, giving, ha. I need something real, something that feels right yet isn't going to exhaust me or take from me in any way like 'give' unexpectedly did. Though I guess when I assign myself a word like GIVE for the year, I only have myself to blame haha.

I'm starting Susannah's Find Your Word emails this week and I'm hoping the right word comes to me before December is over and hopefully I'll have a word of 2016 post to share soon :)

Did anyone else pick a word for 2015? How has your word influenced your year? Have you chosen your 2016 word already?