It’s funny I don’t even remember my word for 2022…or if I ever even had one. But if I had to look back on this year and give it a word, I would say growth. And, in all my years, growth would mean something to me like expanding my business, gaining in volume/production, growing my network, and somehow moving the professional needle forward.
Oh, but growth looked so different to me this year.
It looked like trusting my knowing and my instincts above all else. It meant becoming totally selfless, putting my needs and wants aside for the sake of someone else (perhaps truly for the first time in my life). It meant running off 2-hour stretches of sleep for 9+ months, and still showing up. It meant choosing rest over working out. It meant learning to truly love my body for the first time, not because of how it looks but because of how it has performed for me in the most challenging of times. It meant saying both yes and no when I didn’t want to. It meant being ok having a dip in my business so that I could focus on becoming a mother. It meant finding pieces of me that had been buried for far too long, while discovering pieces of me I never knew existed.
Growth
Now 2023 is here and as I reflect on the past year and vision cast for the year ahead, I have an immense sense of gratitude. I’ve created a life I can be proud of and I’ve learned over this past year that I am truly content with what I have. I have the gift of a child I’ve long prayed for, a loving and supportive husband, an incredibly devoted and supportive family, the best core friends a girl could ask for and the security in life I’ve always aspired to. #blessed (sorry, had to!) Each year past I’d strive for more and more and more, but I’ve really learned to really love and value the simple things that make my life so sweet. As I look to the new year, I don’t have grandiose goals. Sure, I have goals…but they aren’t actually for doing anymore than I’ve done in the past. In fact, when I think about my business, I actually am only aspiring to do the level of business that I did two years ago, versus doing MORE, because that feels like a good and healthy amount of business for me to do. So yes, I definitely want to do MORE than I did last year as a newborn mama, but I don’t feel like I need to do anymore than my best year – if that makes sense. That whole work/life balance thing, ya know…
I want to spend this next year focusing on the things that really matter.
I want to focus on my family and friends, first and foremost.
I want to focus on the productive actions in my business that actually move the needle, not just being busy for the sake of being busy.
I want to focus on my mental, physical and spiritual health.
I want to focus on the good.
I want to focus on my future so I can make decisions now that align with where I want to be.
In case you haven’t noticed a theme yet…my word for 2023 is FOCUS.
Below is my vision board for the year. A glimpse into the interworkings of my mind. (ICYMI, you can check out my tips for creating vision board on last year’s post here.)
Here’s to 2023 and may it be your most clear year yet.