Why you should choose a word of the year

MindsetSelf-care

Jan 18

HEIDI’S JOURNAL ENTRY | 009

WHY you SHOULD CHOOSE a word of the YEAR

At the end of the year, I often get asked what I think about New Year's Resolutions. People want to know what the best way is to set goals and whether I know a secret to actually sticking to them.

By Heidi Hauer

While reaching inspiring goals is supposed to be challenging, there is certainly a system to successful goal-setting and also a method to follow-through. This is something I have shared in detail on my podcast.

Click here to listen to episode 26: Successful goal setting (in German)

But before you get into detailed goal-setting, I highly recommend that you pick a word of the year! This is a fantastic way to set the tone and intention of how you want to experience the year ahead.

For example, for 2021 I picked the word ‘excitement’. Why? Because I had noticed that my way of working was still very much a reflection of how I showed up in my corporate career: highly professional, structured, strategic, forward-planning, working very long hours.

Those qualities aren’t ‘bad’ but it wasn’t the intention I had held in my heart when I started my own coaching business. That’s why I picked ‘excitement’ because I wanted to unlearn that professional demeanour and allow myself to bring emotions into my work.

Throughout the year, I always had ‘excitement’ in the back of my mind.

When I was deciding on what to commit to, I considered which projects or activities made me feel most excited. Or when things felt stagnant, I asked myself how I could bring some joy back into the game.

This is exactly the idea of how a word of the year works. It stays with you for the entire year and sets the tone for your experiences and decisions.

The reason why I ultimately decided to make space for a puppy in my life was because of my word of the year! I followed my heart and the question: does this being me excitement?

And believe me, not only was it exciting to get a puppy, but she also showed me what real excitement meant! I’ll never forget the many wonderful experiences of watching her embody pure joy and wonder, such as the first time we went for a walk in the snow.

FOR 2022 I HAVE CHOSEN THE WORD

COURAGE

FOR ME THIS MEANS THE COURAGE TO:

Make brave decisions to support my business growth.
Face my fears and uncover any disempowering beliefs I am holding around certain projects.
Trust myself and divine guidance to show me the way.
Reach out to potential business partners and podcast guests I would otherwise shy away from contacting.
Show up every day in the best possible way.

Over to you...

How to choose your word of the year

To help you find your own word of the year, I encourage you to reflect upon the following questions:

What quality do I want to invite into my life?
What feeling do I want to feel more often in this upcoming year?
To advance my professional life, what quality do I need to bring to the forefront?
In order to advance my personal life, which way do I need to show up more often?

Overall, you want to think about what value, essence, trait or characteristic etc you believe will be most helpful in guiding you further towards the life you most desire to live.

What makes your heart sing?

The answer might come to you straight away, or it make take some time. Let yourself try some words on, meditate on it, give yourself time to think.

When the right words comes through to you, you’ll know it!

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Why you should choose a word of the year

WHY you SHOULD CHOOSE a word of the YEAR

Click here to listen to episode 26: Successful goal setting (in German)

This is exactly the idea of how a word of the year works. It stays with you for the entire year and sets the tone for your experiences and decisions.

FOR 2022 I HAVE CHOSEN THE WORD

COURAGE

Over to you...

How to choose your word of the year

What quality do I want to invite into my life?

What feeling do I want to feel more often in this upcoming year?

To advance my professional life, what quality do I need to bring to the forefront?

In order to advance my personal life, which way do I need to show up more often?

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Heidi Hauer is an executive coach, advisor, and host of her podcast ‘Intuitive Leadership for Impact’. She works with clients in Zurich, Vienna, and online.