Do words really have power over us? If I say, “These are my three words for 2023” will I actually embody them and change my life? More likely they’re headed straight for the New Years Resolution Fail Pile…again.
Words alone just sit on a shelf. They need something more to build results.
But for some reason we’re compelled to start a new year with new intentions.
So as you can see by my reel-style video at the end of this post, I adapted the awesome strategy of my daily Heroic practice to focus on asking you to pick three words for how you want to show up as your best self in Life, Work, and Love today.
Just today.
I’m new to Heroic and when I initially set them in my daily practice I thought I was making a year-long commitment to three set words in each category for the year.
Turns out it was just for one day, like I’ve asked you for, and I’d have to recommit to which words I wanted each and every day.
That stressed me out. It seemed like a lot.
Especially because I put a hell of a lot of thought into the ones I thought I was picking for 2023.
I sooooooo did not want a repeat of 2022!
When I brilliantly selected ‘resilient’ as my 2022 word I thought I was asking myself (and the universe) to help me become more flexible and adaptable to the many challenges I face as a business owner, coach, spouse, hobbyist,
shopper (I love the high of ‘add to cart’),
keto packaged food hoarder (it’s not sold locally, I can’t help it),
student, and perpetually chubby but exercising health-compromised human.
I didn’t actually realize I was telling the universe I wanted to PROVE over and over and over again just how resilient I can be to newer and bigger challenges in every area of my life.
LOL.
It was a lot.
I’m not superstitious but it made me think long and hard about how I wanted to show up this year; what I would ask for this year.
What’s interesting is that when I finally took ownership over needing to recommit to words for just one day I felt freed!
SO FREED!
Yes, they should still be around Life, Work, and Love, but just like every day changes in dynamic for us so can we shift our intentions regarding what is important.
And if something isn’t working out, like my goal of resiliency, I can just toss that out.
So I ask you to set some words for today around how you want to show up. Don’t worry yet about how it will happen!
When you think about living, how do you want to show up?
When you think about working and/or running your business how do you want to show up?
When you think of sharing and receiving all kinds of love, how do you want to show up?
You can take these deeper too:
How do you want to show up to….
- Your family?
- Your clients?
- Your community?
- The world?
- Yourself? (Don’t forget you).
What are your words? Just for today….
Today my words are:
- For living: grateful, positive and disciplined.
- For working: inspirational, intentional, authentic.
- For loving: present, abundant, creative.
Yesterday I had words like joyful, radiant, giving, and assertive….
How will you live your words in your daily practice…today?
According to the authors of The Tools, at the end of the day no matter what intention you set to help you meet your goals on showing up–
whether it’s to do gratitude work, taking action despite feelings of fear or paralysis, staying calm in the face of chaos, doing something to make yourself laugh, or finding acceptance of your shadow self to move forward —
they all require willpower.
I shared four favorite tools in my pre-holidays blog post, I Got Stressed Creating This Video of 4 Ways to Destress (But it Worked), that you can refer to for ideas.
But you have to apply willpower to act on a tool to begin with.
For instance, I shared about a powerful future visioning exercise called, “What’s on your tombstone?” in a prior blog post.
An old post.
A short yet powerful post that I was reminded about when I learned about willpower in a synopsis of The Tools by Brian Johnson.
In short, you’ve got to do what needs to be done now – today – to actualize the results you want tomorrow.
If and when your life flashes before your eyes, you want it to resonate with your heart that you gave it your very best!
You set the intentions.
You took the actions to follow through.
You celebrated the wins.
You remembered that all work and no play makes ANYONE an unhappy human.
Just for today.
Really, it doesn’t have to be a 360 degree, 365 day commitment.
I’m here to tell you to start your day with an intention, an action, an acceptance, and the willingness to give yourself permission.
Permission to mess up, start over, laugh at yourself.
To remember that you are beautiful, awesome, and powerful no matter what.
So how will you show up today? What are your three words for today?
And don’t forget — the only prize for picking them and focusing on them is your day better lived.
And days become weeks become months become years.
Little habits compound.
We can’t specifically change the world around us by pushing.
But we can influence it by striving to be our best selves.
To be our happiest selves.
To be the person who wakes up and can’t help but smile at the day ahead.
One little intention and corresponding action at a time strengthens those muscles.
What actions will you take to actualize your intentions?
Here are my daily goals to meet in order to use willpower and brain training to see the chaos around me in a positive, productive, and truly upbeat manner:
- For living: take a walk, eat mindfully, practice morning gratitude.
- For working: tackle my most important win of the day first, be creative before reactive, have a set workday shut down after which I do not think or talk about work.
- For loving: start day with a smile, listen to someone fully with total smart phone set down, spend time at self-care which for me is performing or choreographing hula.
You’ll notice that again we are seeing groups of three.
- Three categories.
- Three intentions per category.
- Three actions per intention.
This is just what my daily system sets up for me.
Remember I told you it was just about one thing so don’t get overwhelmed.
Your daily practice can be whatever you want!
A word and action for a day or a word for a year.
Nothing has to be perfect.
For instance, this is day four for me.
Some of my mindful eating has encompassed mindfully enjoying an extra square of ChocZero’s keto dark chocolate ganache.
That might seem mindless or something I want to beat myself up about.
Tomorrow I might see it all differently.
But today it was about mindfully enjoying that square.
I didn’t gobble it down and then stare at the empty wrapper wondering where it went and then start reaching for another.
I was mindful.
I made the choice.
I took the action.
I’ll eat another vegetable later but for now I enjoyed the sugar free chocolate.
I hope you get what I’m saying here.
Willpower counts but so does thoughtfulness and being able to pivot, forgive, accept, and move on.
Sometimes it takes a journaling exercise before bed to put things into perspective.
I love using my New Gratitude App (iOS app) to look at my day and find the things I have to be grateful for.
Often I can find the pony hiding in the BS that was a bad day by doing this one thing….
We’re just taking life one step at a time with the understanding that we are the captains of our ships.
On the journey of this new year, there are a million ways to steer your boat.
I’ve just offered one that works for me and the others who have taken it on.
So how are you going to show up in 2023 or just for today? Watch the 40 second reel and then let me know!
I want to hear from you.
I want to know your words, intentions, or actions to avoid New Years resolution fails.
I know that together we can up our accountability quotient….even if it involves an extra (sugar free) square of chocolate here and there!
