Choosing to flourish this year!

Setting an intention for the whole year provides a word to guide, remind and inspire. I’ve been doing this for many years now, in fact I’ve worked out that 2024 will be my ninth year. The first year I chose embrace. I wanted to embrace what life had to offer, new opportunities, new experiences, the people I love.

Skip on a few years and my intention for 2020 was adventure. Little did I realise the wild ride that 2020 was going to supply. In April, a month into lockdown and my grandfather passed away. Adventure began to feel like the least appropriate word. I was home alone thanks to lockdown and grieving. I was reading a book called “Finding God in the Mess” and it was hugely helpful in the midst of the mess of a global pandemic. The very last line of the book was “It will be a great adventure”. And in that moment it was like a light bulb going off. I had a choice. Even in the midst of loss and grief and not knowing what the coming months would bring I had a choice. I made the choice to stick with adventure and view all the changes 2020 necessitated as an adventure.

In 2022 I chose joy – I needed joy in my life so much. I chose it knowing I still had months of cancer treatment left. I wanted it to help me seek out the joy in every single day no matter what. And I’m happy to report that most days I managed it despite pain, fatigue and setbacks. It made me realise how much there is to be joyful about in my life. And recognise what brings me joy. Don’t get me wrong, I shed plenty of tears that year. In fact I could cry at the drop of a hat thanks to menopause and meds but I also laughed and smiled a lot. It was a year of many joys and if I hadn’t chosen that word I don’t think I’d be saying that. It’s powerful.

In 2023 with treatment behind me, but knowing I still needed more surgery I decided it was time for more fun in my life. Having the word fun helped my through the frustration and disappointment of NHS cancellations. It also encouraged me to experiment and do new things.

Having a word for the year can help with big and little decisions. Stuck deciding what holiday destination to choose? What fits best with the intention you set for the year?

Having an intention for the year can help you to treat yourself better. To keep to those boundaries. And letting someone you trust know what your intention is can really help to. I have a friend who shared with me that her word for the year was self-compassion. There were times during the year when we were chatting and I’d throw in, “Well what would be the most self-compassionate thing to do?"

I always make sure to source or make something that will give me a visual reminder of my word. This is to ensure I haven’t forgotten it before the end of January, never mind the second half of the year. I’ve had mugs, prints, bracelets. Nothing expensive but a constant reminder.

This stuff works!

Those of you who watched the December “Who am I now and what’s next?” coffee and coaching session worked through the process of choosing an intention for the year with me. I’d love to hear what words you ended up choosing.

My word for this year is flourish. I’ve been through so much health wise and there is still more to come but I’m choosing to flourish through and beyond it. I want my health, my business, my social life, my relationships, my joy in life and my clients to flourish. And so I will make choices that support this desire.

I need to find some visual reminders to keep the word in mind daily. I think it might be time to get my art materials out and to have a little scroll through Etsy too!