For the last few years, as I’ve developed my goals for the upcoming year, I’ve also chosen a word or phrase as my theme. I’m a big believer in writing your goals down. I used to carry a small card in my wallet with my top five goals on it and would periodically pull it out and read it. Much has been written about the power of visualizing your goals. As Napoleon Hill writes in Think and Grow Rich when you focus on something, good or bad, your subconscious mind tries to make that thing a reality.
Why distill your goals into a one word or phrase theme? For me, it provides an easy gut check to decide if or when I want to pursue an opportunity. My first question is ‘Does it fit my word/phrase?’ If it doesn’t I can usually take an immediate pass.
Your word doesn’t have to be a verb, but I tend to gravitate towards them. One year, my word was collaborate. That year, I did a lot of joint ventures and partnered with other people hosting conferences and workshops. Another year, my word was elevate. That year, I chose to up my game by creating higher value service packages and adding freelancers to my team who could provide expert skills.
You can start with your word or phrase and develop goals that fit the theme, or you can start with your goals and uncover the common theme from there. If you want to give this technique a try, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Use a favorite quote as inspiration. Here’s one of my favorite from Goethe: “Whatever you dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.” There are multiple themes in the quote that would work, such as, Dream, Boldness, Power, and Begin.
- We’re all about books at Expert Author so pick a favorite book and develop a word based on the book’s theme. I read the book Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. In it, she describes the year where she decided to say yes to every opportunity especially if it was out of her comfort zone. Needless to say, magical things happened as a result.
- Assess the current year. Write down what worked and what didn’t, what you’d like to do more of in the new year, and what you’d like to do less of. What challenges did you overcome? What lessons did you learn? Were there any recurring themes? See if you can find a word or phrase that encompasses what you want more of in your life.
- Set your intention for the upcoming year. What do you want to accomplish in your personal and business life? Do you want to finish your book, get published, make more book sales, or use your book to generate business leads? What do you want to change or improve? Make a Vision Board. Add images and words that reflect what your ideal life would look like and you may see a theme emerge.
Picking a word of the year can be an empowering exercise. After you’ve chosen your word for the year, embrace it. Write it down in your journal, post it on your wall or mirror. One year, a friend hosted a word of the year party at a ‘paint your own’ ceramics store. I chose a little panda bear and painted my word on his belly. He sat on my desk all year to remind me of my word. You could easily print your word in a nice font and frame it to sit on your desk. Use a visual reminder to allow you to reflect on your word regularly.
