In the spirt of focus and building on last year, here are three words I’m using to guide me in the year ahead. Last year’s were so simple, but still hard. I often forgot about them. Yet I smiled when I went back to them late summer and noted the first one, again – Do. Earlier in the summer I attended the Do Lectures. Maybe it’s serendipity or maybe it’s a stretch to connect the two, but I hadn’t thought of this word when I signed up in the Spring. I would like to think putting the word out there contributed to being there in some small way. What words will you use to guide you this year?
Reinvent
2016 was a year of intense self exploration and awakening leading to some significant changes in 2017. When the ball dropped on 2015 to usher in the next year, I had no idea what lie in store. It was during this year that I went through the key stages of change – Endings where you’re in denial and feeling sad, then the neutral zone where you have much anxiety and confusion and chaos, and finally New Beginnings with a renewed sense of purpose. It’s not been all linear. Sometimes I went back through these stages. But we’re now at the end of 2016 and I’m poised for reinvention. Maybe it’s an awakening, but I think it’s something more. It’s the start of a second act perhaps. Bold? Pompous to say? Perhaps. I’ve been sitting with this for awhile and am committed to reinventing myself to be the best self I can possibly be. Much better than the old. And a self that can offer so much more to those around me because I do feel I have much to give. So here we go.
Explore
This isn’t necessarily something new for me as I’m always exploring the cities I travel to for work. But I like this word for what it promises. It feeds my keen curiosity for life and people and how things work. And may provide some focus to how I explore the world around me. It’s not just places either, but feelings – getting out of my head, where you’ll often find me spending much time. And letting go of perfectionism to try cooking new things, pursuing new sports (for me) like cycling – I have an eye on Cycle Oregon 2017. But then running may overtake that with a goal to run one 1/2 Marathon per month. In any case, to explore means to be open. To pay attention to the moments and experiences – especially the little ones that can add so much depth and texture to your day. No matter where you are, explore what is around you. You may be surprised at how much you discover in the process. And what you’ve missed before.
Exceptional
There’s so much mediocrity around us. It’s easy to be average. Whether it’s customer service or the communications we send, we do so much on auto pilot. Focus on checking things off the list more than ensuring they have the impact we want to make. And so I want to elevate the concept of being exceptional. Choosing something to master and create wow and delight. To be better than average because that’s where you can make a difference. And after 2016, who couldn’t use a dose of exceptional? In a job market filled with oodles of college graduates all producing resumes filled with much the same gobbledygook – I read many of them – it’s more important than ever to rise above. So here’s to being exceptional in 2017. In how we communicate. How we write. How we show up. Be exceptional.