Have you seen these around social media? It seems they come out every year. Every year I look at them, see some words and move on. Maybe it’s because I don’t agree with them or I don’t care much about them. This year was different. The words I saw resonated with me.
The words I found were Strength, Change, Connection and Power.
Let’s start with change. There’s going to be a few changes this year. The youngest finished formal schooling in December and will be starting a vocational course in February. I’ll be looking for a good fit work place for me over the next 9 months. Which means I’ll be looking at a variety of short term stints (if I get them) in various places to see what works for me. And of course meet new people who are able to offer me a new place to be.
This brings us to connection. I said in an earlier post that I’m not good with networking but I need / want to improve this to make connections in order to find a good fit workplace. Sometimes, I struggle with maintaining connections with people I care about. I can feel that contacting people to say hi or check in etc is bothering them. Plus the rejection I get if there is no positive response is uncomfortable. But that said, I can only try. Life is busy and if people don’t get back to me then I’ll try again another time. My goal is to not take no response as a personal thing instead a life is busy thing. I plan on putting myself out there more to connect to new people and to strengthen my connections with the people I care about.
I believe power is inherent in all relationships. Brene Brown talks about relationships in a leadership context and how they should be a power with rather than a power over thing. I feel relationships should be positive and respectful for all parties. But I also know that sometimes people give their power away, sometimes knowingly sometimes not.
I’m thinking by that shifting my perspective and regaining some of my power by my choices and thoughts. By choosing to not see a nil or negative response to me as a power issue then hopefully I’m supporting and encouraging power with relationships between myself and others.
Lastly, and definitely not the least, the first focus word that I saw was Strength. By taking leave and making my own plans for this year, I am showing strength. I will need to be strong to cope with the uncertainty of not knowing where I will be and what I’ll be doing. By stepping out of my comfort zone, I am demonstrating strength, resilience and flexibility. Mental and emotional strength will be very important this year.
So there you have it. Four focus words. They resonate with me and seem to fit my plans and life for 2022. Thanks for reading, it became much longer than I anticipated. What do you think about focus words? I know some bloggers chose a theme for the year. Are you a focus or theme word person?
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It’s interesting about words for the year. I’ve never really made resolutions but for the past few years I’ve chosen a word of the year and then really LIVE that word. last year it was Bold and every month I wrote a post about how I’d been bold it was so much fun, I made myself bold by the end of the year! This year I’ve chosen ‘gift’ and am waiting to see how i will focus on that in my monthly posts. All the best for your focus words this year.
Ooh, gift is a great word. So many things can be seen as gifts! I really like the idea of posting with a theme word. Maybe I should consider a post a month on my focus words. I’ll think about it.
Monthly updates really help me keep on track and allow me to check my progress. I’ve a post you might be interested in coming out tomorrow, all about this very thing!