Forget Resolutions- Choose One Word Instead
Happy New Year!🥳
If you’re anything like me you’ve fallen into the new year’s resolution trap more times than you can count. But I’ve found a new and better way to ring in the new year.
Instead of making a long list of resolutions to “improve” myself I now choose one word that helps me to bring focus and clarity to what I want to create in my life. So whenever I’m feeling a little lost or a lot overwhelmed I come back to my one word as another way to center myself.
In my world choosing one word isn’t about changing or “improving” who you are… It’s about embracing all of the wonderful qualities you already have and using this one word as one more way to bring true selves into the light.
For 2022 I’ve chosen the word Ikigai.
You might have heard about this word and concept before… there is pretty popular book on the subject that was published in 2017.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ikigai as “a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason for living”. In more general terms it may refer to something that brings pleasure or fulfilment.
The term compounds two Japanese words: iki (生き, meaning ‘life; alive’) and kai (甲斐, meaning ‘(an) effect; (a) result; (a) fruit; (a) worth; (a) use; (a) benefit; (no, little) avail’) (sequentially voiced as gai), to arrive at ‘a reason for living [being alive]; a meaning for [to] life; what [something that] makes life worth living.
This word best represents where I am now in this moment in my life and how I choose to move forward in the coming year.
Are you ready to choose your own One Word Intention?
Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Start by asking yourself some honest questions:
What feelings do I want to have more of?
What kinds of experiences do I want to have?
In what ways can I honor my true self?
How can I embrace my flaws as well as my strengths?
In what ways can I love myself more?
2. Choose intentions over goals
We are conditioned to set goals and markers of achievement for ourselves as a way to measure our worth as human beings. There are times and places for goals of course but they are not the be all and end all for how we live- especially as HSPs!
I choose intentions over goals because they are a connection to the present moment, they are an internal connection to yourself and how you wish to move through the world.
Goals are typically external markers of achievements and while goal setting can be motivating that motivation can quickly turn into self-criticism and stress if we cannot achieve them in the way we originally conceived.
3. Search the globe for your word
Don’t limit yourself to the English language when searching for your word.
Many languages have unusual and beautiful words with deep meanings that can give us a deeper appreciation for other cultures as well as allowing us to see the world differently.
Words are powerful! They can inspire, stir, challenge, move, touch, and intrigue us.
Now it’s your turn!
What will your one word be??
I’d love to know- leave me a comment! 🥰
