Pick a Word. Any Word. Then, Throw your Resolutions out the Door.
My mom, Patti Winker, told me about this awesome blog post..
Read it! -> Resolution Revolution.
I liked the blog post so much that I'm assigning homework based upon the idea to all of my coaching clients.
What is it exactly?
In this article, the author, Christine Kane, states that New Year's Resolutions don't work (which is completely true). Most people abandon their resolutions within weeks.
I personally feel that failed resolutions only make us feel like our goals are NOT achievable, and it also is bad for self-esteem when we go to try to achieve them the next time, causing us to think “Why bother. I didn't succeed last year. I might as well quit again.”
Christine instead suggests that you should choose a single word that will be your motivation or mantra for the entire year.
I've found the exercise to be very telling. I narrowed mine down to three words. And, the three work together nicely, actually. But… I'm not going to tell you which ones I chose yet, until you have yours.
Now, before you go LOOKING for your word, I want to stop you for a second.
Instead of making it a mission to find a word, I'd ask that you read through Christine's blog post and see which words choose you.
Yes, I said that right. Which word chooses YOU.
In my experience, the right one(s) will jump out of the screen at you. For instance, the one that picked my mom is totally different than the ones that picked me.
What word will choose you? I believe the one that you need RIGHT now will stand out to you.
I printed off my three words in HUGE font and hung them on my wall. I also explained to Ivita what each word meant and why it was important to me this year.
I will share my words (and pics) next week. 🙂
But, for right now, please go read the blog post and post your three words below.
Looking forward to making 2012 your BEST YEAR EVER!
With love,
N
Julia
January 6, 2012 at 1:21 pmWell, I have to admit I let the google translator translate the list as I believe things like these only work in your native language. Strangely I knew the word was at the top, but only when I changed it to be an adjective it really jumped at me: effortless.
And that is exactly what I need, being in the middle of writing and releasing an ebook!
Thank you for this wonderful blog post, I will actually stick a post it on my desk so I am reminded of it daily…
The Mom
January 6, 2012 at 1:26 pmFYI – to give credit where credit is due –
Laurie Gaudino of GardeningJunky.com brought this idea to light for me in her post called What’s In A Word in WiseWomenandWine.com. I think you’ll agree with me and Nicole, and Laurie, that this is a very refreshing way to look at those New Year’s Resolutions. 😀
The Mom
January 6, 2012 at 1:09 pmOh my Lord! I burst out laughing when I saw this post! 😀 You did it! And I love that you emphasized the thing that was the most important thing to ME as well:
“see which words choose you”
That is EXACTLY how it happened to me. When I read through the list in Christine’s post, one word jumped right off the page and CHOSE me! And I continued to read through the list she provided and no other word did the same.
So, I will share my word here (yes, only one word chose me.)
DELIGHT
Gail J Richardson
January 6, 2012 at 2:10 pmHi Nicole, What a nice and inspiring post. I have picked my three words and after I looked them over on paper it seems to me that they will work together very nicely.
They are….
1.change
2.creativity
3.focus
Gail J Richardson
Tracy Roberts
January 6, 2012 at 1:15 pmThe right words kinda just leapt off the page almost looking bigger than all the other words. Three words picked me but they all go together.
Wealth
Release
Courage
Patti, I love that Delight chose you. I think that is so fitting. You are a joy!
The Mom
January 6, 2012 at 3:47 pmThank you, Tracy! You are too sweet. kiss kiss
Mark Mason
January 6, 2012 at 1:27 pmFOCUS
Loretta
January 6, 2012 at 1:28 pmThree words really stand out to me right now in this moment.
Freedom, Friendship, and Joy.
.. and that seems just about right for things that I feel I “need” right now.
Loretta
January 6, 2012 at 8:37 pmI wanted to add that Freedom was the biggest, with friendship and joy accompanying it – which makes perfect sense to me.
Patti
January 6, 2012 at 3:02 pmSeven words jumped at me. I know, it said pick no more than 3, so I’ll ponder on these 7 and then leave another comment when I fully decide which 3 it will be.
The 7 words are: compassion, wealth, abundance, gratitude, mastery, action and discipline.
Wealth, gratitude and abundance stuck out quite a bit and they are all together, so that may be my 3, but I also know I need action and discipline….really bad. LOL
Very fun post. Thanks for sharing!
Amy E. Willard
January 6, 2012 at 2:10 pmThank you for sharing this perspective and also directing us to Christine’s post. For the past two years I have actually chosen 3 words for the year, and this year I had already chosen 3 words for 2012 prior to reading this post. What was interesting, though, is that I thought I’d go ahead and look through Christine’s word list anyway. And, sure enough, a word CHOSE me! And it was not one of the words that I had already chosen previously.
That word is: PIONEER
Something is definitely getting stirred up…
Thanks, Nicole, and Happy New Year to you and your family!
~Amy
Sue
January 6, 2012 at 2:12 pmI did this exercise on 1/1/12. My 3 words are “ease, connection, warmth”. They really did just come to me without my even thinking much about it! Thanks, Nicole.
William
January 6, 2012 at 2:17 pmThank you Nicole and thank Patti for me. Wow, it seems that “Discipline” just jumped off the page for me. I tried going through the list a second time, just to see it there was a better choice for me, but “Discipline” kept telling me that with Discipline all the rest will fall in place.
A Great Article.
Laurie Neumann
January 6, 2012 at 2:17 pmHi Nicole,
That’s a great post. I don’t think I have ever really made “resolutions.” I make goals, but this post goes at it from a different viewpoint.
I think another reason resolutions don’t work is that they are usually very general. I think we have to make specific steps to attain our goal or “resolution.”
My word: FREEDOM!
Marilyn Southmayd
January 6, 2012 at 3:38 pmI had a hard time settling on just 3 but I decided on the following 3
Creativity
Confidence
Discipline
Since I create bead pattern designs and other written work, I need to have the creativity. I need to have confidence in my creativity and have discipline to follow through on what I am working on. I think the last word is the one that I need to focus on the most…Discipline. Yep, I tend not to make myself to the work that I need to do.
Lain Ehmann
January 6, 2012 at 2:42 pmThis is a very common practice and project in the online scrapbooking industry. Ali Edwards is known for leading a year-long class on what she calls “One Little Word” and I’ve written about it extensively on my blog. My word for 2012 is CULTIVATE.
People can find out more about Ali at aliedwards.com.
Alan Petersen
January 6, 2012 at 3:52 pmA few days ago I posted “Just say no New Year Resolutions” on my blog . Cool to see that “Resolution Revolution” site, I hadn’t seen it before, thanks for the link.
Best example of New Years Resolution silliness is at the gym. Every January the gym I go to is jam packed. By week three it starts thinning out. By February 1st it’s back to normal and those people feel bad for breaking their “resolution”.
Much better to accomplish goals by staying focused all year long! 🙂
Alan
Chris Deals
January 6, 2012 at 4:09 pmI have heard about this exercise but have never done it until reading you post.
Here are 3 words that really jumped out at me:
Focus
Commitment
Growth
Terence (akaTK)
January 6, 2012 at 6:07 pmGratitude, Health, Discipline
Connie Ragen Green
January 6, 2012 at 6:16 pmMy words are:
Confidence
Risk
Growth
I just noticed that these are my initials as well. Amazing.
I love this! Thanks so much for sharing.
Connie Ragen Green
Laurie Neumann
January 6, 2012 at 6:25 pmThat’s really something, Connie:-)
Christine Steendahl - "The Menu Mom"
January 9, 2012 at 10:38 amWow, very cool Connie!
Angela Wills
January 6, 2012 at 7:05 pmWell I haven’t read the post yet because I wanted to tell you that I already picked three words for this year! A member of Solo Masterminds, Denise O’Berry, was already doing it and I thought it was a nice idea.
So… I picked three words of things I wanted to focus on this year. They are:
– Promotions
– Processes
– Purging
Also – I never do new year’s resolutions, stopped doing them in my teens I think. I like goals much better.
Now I’m off to read that post and add my words, which seem less like activity words and more like feeling words. OH – I really like the post! I see the words I posted above are the ‘DO’ words, the ones I picked from the blog are the ‘BE’ words – so this fits together nicely..
I picked two words:
– ABUNDANCE
– POWER
Those really speak to me!
(sidenote – Christine almost hired me as her VA in 2008 but it wasn’t the right fit – I knew her name was familiar so I googled my gmail, lol)
Robert Nelson
January 7, 2012 at 2:32 pmLynn Terry of( clicknewz.com) also deliberately choose not to do the New Year’s Resolutions bit in 2012. I personally feel that few of any New Year’s resolutions are full filled and so have never done them.
Kater
January 7, 2012 at 8:06 pmI started last year with this word, COURAGE. That led to more of my second word, CONFIDENCE. When I look back on the year it was quite remarkable. I’d like to repeat these two words again this year and add a new one. COURAGE, CONFIDENCE and FOCUS.
Kater
Alice Coaxum
January 8, 2012 at 5:47 pmThanks for sharing this awesome post with us. I don’t think New Years resolutions work because once the hyped up period is gone the resolutions usually go out the window. I think making an all year resolution works better when you consistently work all year long toward that goal or mini goal.
My words are
creativity
wealth and
confidence
Rodel Narciso
January 9, 2012 at 2:13 amIt’s funny that after reading your post, first word came into my mind is “fear”, making them three my words are “THROW your FEARS AWAY”. That made sense as a resolution. I’m looking forward for your words and pictures as well.
Christine Steendahl - "The Menu Mom"
January 9, 2012 at 10:44 amI had already chose “purposeful” for my word, but off her list, I love:
Focus
Generosity
Growth
Deliberateness – (but that is close to Purposeful)
Great Exercise!
Joseph
January 9, 2012 at 4:58 pmthese words that came to my mind after reading your post, that really hard for me to achieve since I started working online… Focus,Commitment and Patience.
Steve Vox
January 9, 2012 at 7:07 pmThanks for the great post
My three words are:
consistency
persistence
fun
have a great 2012
Kelly Allison
January 10, 2012 at 1:07 amI was reading your post and these words came to my mind. They are consistency, content and Fun. Maybe I need to live with these words this 2012.
I’m looking forward to see your words.
Satu
January 12, 2012 at 3:32 amI used to read Christine Kane’s blog, even did a vision board.
My words are Mastery, Exploration & Adventure. Some adventure would be nice, because I’m feeling stucked.
Julia
January 12, 2012 at 4:59 pmJust wanted to let you know that this really works! There are magical things happening in my life ever since I picked (or was picked by) the word effortless, I am amazed! :-)))))
Christine Kane
January 27, 2012 at 8:26 amHey Nicole! Thanks so much for the link love! What a great community you’ve created here (and such a cool mom too!) – honored to be a part of it!