Some years I like to make New Year’s Resolutions and other years, not so much. In the same line of thinking, some years I like to come up with a word of the year and other years I don’t even give it a thought. Last year my word of the year was “enchantment.” I had big dreams of how lovely it was all going to be; but I’m quite sure that I don’t need to tell you how un-enchanting 2020 actually turned out to be!
As last year’s word was a bust, this year I decided I only wanted to do one resolution – to treat myself with more kindness. I didn’t realize that this would quickly lead me to my word of the year – respect.
I’ve done this self-kindness resolution before. Last time it was primarily about how I treated myself physically, and lovely things came from that awareness. It was the year that kick-started my weight loss. With that I learned to nourish my body, move it in a way that felt good to me and generally slough off the guilt about things that were out of my control.
This time, though, I am realizing that self-kindness means keeping my word to myself, and this means pulling in boundaries and respect. As I begin to gently put these into place some interesting changes are already happening. I’ve re-started my workouts, which bit the dust in 2020. I’m asking for help with the daily “stuff” and then accepting said help, and in just three weeks I am 80% complete on updating my website – something that I had been “trying” to do since March.
As I begin implementing better personal boundaries and respect, I have noticed the trickle-down effect to other areas as well. It hit me one day that I don’t need to work with people whose values aren’t in alignment with mine. Literally, this hit me like a ton of bricks! I simply don’t need to work with, or even speak with, people who don’t respect who I am as a person and what I represent professionally. Boom!
The best changes happen both organically and with intent and I am welcoming both into my life. I can’t wait to see where my “Year of Respect” leads me. I would love to hear from you if you have a resolution or word of the year that has already turned the corner into something bigger or different than you
