Name Your Year and Move Forward With More Confidence & Direction

Posted by Shea on March 6, 2022

“In a World Where You Can Be Anything – Be KIND.”

Caroline Flack

Writing an inspirational piece during a time when the world is in such turmoil, is not an easy challenge. It has been a rollercoaster ride for the last two years now as Australia has battled through drought, bushfires, COVID and now tragic flooding. On the other side of the world, we are watching unnecessary destruction on an unfathomable scale. This is especially surreal for someone who has woken up safely on a quiet street, with birds chirping happily in the trees outside the bedroom window.

The HuffPost has recently published an article aptly called To Anyone Feeling Guilty For Carrying On Your Life Right Now. The takeaway quote that was a standout to me is “It’s OK to feel grateful for what you have and grief for others at the same time. These feelings can coexist.” Reading this was the motivation behind finally writing this (overdue) annual Name Your Year post.

During a recent Beyond Blue webinar series I attended for work last year, one of the speakers shared a practical tip for dealing with overwhelm. The advice was that rather than focusing on things you can’t control, focus on things you can. So, without further ado, it is time to commit and Name Your Year.

Have you read: 5 Simple Acts Of Kindness – Good For The Planet And Good For You!

In this little corner of the online world, you will find a community familiar with the concept of Naming Your Year. The idea is not to start the year feeling obligated to set a New Year’s Resolution but rather give yourself a flexible focus. This is designed to inspire you during challenging times and guide you through those moments when you need a little bit of extra motivation. If you are new to the name your year concept then you might want to take a minute to read this post. It explains how this simple tool can help you live your best life.

Allocating time to write this post is part of my process as there is nothing quite as liberating (there is a fine line between liberating and confronting) as publishing one’s intention as a way to stay accountable. In saying that, this exercise is not only about publishing one post a year as continuous improvement is just that – continuous. In these modern times it seems that every good movement starts with a hashtag so, throughout the year, you can follow my journey and learnings on Instagram. For me, establishing a habit of regularly checking in keeps the momentum flowing.

It is around 15 years since my family and I were introduced to the fun Name Your Year exercise by The Financial Bloke. Each year it gives me so much joy to hear how sharing this has been of benefit to so many of you in the CWMS community.

REFLECTION

Last year was a big one – New Year, New Attitude, New Role. This year came with questions like “How am I going to manage working full time while running the family household?” As well as all the normal feelings that come with taking on a new role, such as whether the recent studies I had completed were enough preparation, as well as acknowledging the good ol’ imposter syndrome.

There was quite a bit of research involved in the lead up to naming my year for 2021 and I ended up drawing inspiration from the Japanese culture and named my year #2021KaizenApproach.

Most of my themes are a result of chats with people in my tribe and this one was no exception. It was during a conversation with Brendan Rogers, who is the host of The Culture of Things (TCoT) Podcast, that I was able to articulate the overwhelm I had at the thought of returning to work in a full-time capacity.

Put simply, the Kaizen approach is based on the belief that continuous, incremental improvement adds up to substantial change over time. This was just the mantra I was looking for and I am happy to report that I finished the year feeling contented and proud of what I achieved – and the family unit is still in one piece!

Proud, but absolutely exhausted ☺️.

Time to take on some lessons learnt from the year I named Striving for Balance.

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A post shared by Green Heart🌏Wanderlust Spirit (@conversationswithmysister)

2022 Name Your Year Theme

After 15 years of Naming My Year, I can confirm that moments from each year influence the next and lessons from past themes are reoccurring. After quite a few years of achieving big goals and rising to huge challenges, it is time for a reset. Perhaps what I need is to consolidate all my prior learnings and put some energy into turning them into regular habits.

Drum roll please:-

So this year I am naming my year #2022CreateSpace

When you Name Your Year you set yourself an inspiring keyword or motivational phrase which is designed to inspire you during challenging times and guide you through those moments when you need a little bit of extra motivation. I can help you get started now...

The intention with #2022CreateSpace is both physical and mental.

There is plenty of evidence to support the theory of how uncluttering your physical space is good for your mental health. The Minimalists talk about it here and the NY Times talks about it here. It just so happens that this aligns perfectly with my Green Heart and the sustainable lifestyle checklist that I live by.

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Managing the pace that life moves at these days, especially since our family are currently living in that chapter of preteens, with a sporting and social schedule that almost needs a personal assistant to manage, is not easy. Times like these remind me of one of my favourite sayings which is: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the RAIN!”.

My cousin Barnaby Howarth is a great advocate for playing in the puddles and hopefully, #2022CreatingSpace will be the year that I get to splash around a bit more too…