“Why do I always feel so determined about my New Year’s goals and resolutions, but feel like the determination is slipping away by the end of the first week?” my client asked from a place of despair.
I totally ‘got it’…
Because in my ‘former life’ …
I experienced the same thing.
I encouraged him with this:
“You’re NOT alone. You’re with about 90% of the population.”
He seemed a bit relieved.
(But … to you too I say … just because you’ve done it at New Years before … and then fizzed out … only means one thing? You WON’T this time! If you will walk with me!)
I continued.
“We all want better for ourselves, so we give it some (or alot of) thought … and believe this year will be different.”
He nodded emphatically like he’d already been there, gotten the t-shirt, and become weary of the process.
“And it can be different,” I assured him!
“I hope so,” he replied with a bit of skepticism in his voice.
His pause let me know he was thinking with his heart.
“Because if I keep going the direction I’m going, there’s not much point to my life.”
Reading that interaction at this moment may have made you think,\ that I was speaking to a “lesser loser life” type of person.
I was not.
I was speaking to a highly successful C-Level executive.
Who’d realized that he wanted more meaning in his life.
And that meaning wasn’t coming in the form of money…
Or possessions …
Or positions …
Or titles.
He wanted more meaning in his life.
(That’s a great way to formulate our New Year’s resolution…what meaningful thing, adventure, relationship, educational opportunity etc. do we want to add this year? … Start there!)
His reasoning was wanting more meaning in his life, but here are the reasons that many others desire to power their way into 2025:
- Disappointment about the way the previous year went.
- Feeling hopeful for something better.
- Feeling disempowered by trauma.
- Desiring a new start.
- Wanting something better for themselves and their family.
- Determination to recover all that was lost.
- A longing to become more of all they were created to be.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but you may find yourself somewhere in there.
Regardless of your reasoning, let’s get you on the track to power your way into an extraordinary 2025.
(Dig deep for your word…
Don’t settle…
Find one that’ meaningful…
Know this…
When you discover it…
It’ll resonate within…
Or you’ll get goose bumps…
The real question is…
Does it bring you to life!?…
FIND THAT!)
1. Choose your word.
I’d given my client the same exercise that I ended my blog with the last week.
(Again…ask yourself and what would be the most meaningful thing you could become or what pursuit you could go for this year!)
Seriously considering who he/you/we desire to become in 2025…that moves him/you/us closer to all he/you/us were created to be.
I hope you’ve also done that.
“I thought about that all week,” my client mused and went on.
“I guess if I had to sum it up, I’d say I want to become someone who doesn’t just check off list and go through the motions on auto-pilot day after day.”
I nodded with understanding as he continued.
“I want to be present. Really present.”
I waited; he was on a bit of a roll.
“I want my relationships to be rich. With my wife, with my adult kids.”
I asked him the question that I’d like to ask you.
“Can you think of a powerful word…
One that feels powerful to you…
That could sum up all of that?…
And feel meaningful and motivating?”
He looked out the window to the golf course, but I could see the wheels were turning, so I waited.
I could see a bit of a smile as he came back into the room with his presence.
“Intentional!”
He smiled with confidence as he repeated it.
“Yes … intentional.”
I knew he’d found his power word for his new year.
What is yours?
You’ll know deep in your heart when you’ve found the right word for you.
But don’t settle! Fight your complacency for it!
This IS YOUR life!
2. Make it an acronym.
“I really like the feel of that word,” my client said with confidence as he repeated it again!
“Intentional!”
I commented, “It certainly resonates with all you have shared with me that you desire to become.”
“But the word alone is not enough. Now, let’s make it an acronym and write it vertically on the board,” I instructed him as I handed him the basket of markers.
He went to the board and wrote it out:
I
N
T
E
N
T
I
0
N
A
L
Then I instructed him, just like I’d like to instruct you:
“I want you to think of a word or a short phrase that begins with the first letter of each letter in your word, that describes more about who you desire to become.”
Once again, I saw him look out the window at the golf course as he considered the task.
After a moment, he moved his hand back to the letter ‘I’ that he’d written on the board and wrote ‘Intimate Conversation’.
Then he turned to look at me and commented, “My wife has asked for that for years. I guess I’ve been too busy, or unfocused. But that’s who I desire to become. A husband and a dad who has intimate conversation.”
He turned back to the board and raised his marker to write by the letter ‘N’.
He wrote the two-word phrase: … ‘New Dynamics’.
The rest came fairly quickly and easily.
I’d like to invite you to do the same with your power word.
You know this without me adding it, but just in case …
Nothing ever happens without being intentional.
Take and make that your first mental focus step.
And make the intent of this year’s intent to never let go of your intentional intent!
“Everything in life that’s worthwhile is always an uphill journey.”
Dr. John Maxwell
Now you’re almost ready to power your way into the new year.
3. Use it powerfully.
“I’m feeling better about myself, my marriage, and my future already,”
my client commented after he’d filled in the last letter of his word.
I believe you’ll feel the same way when you’ve established your power word and made it your New Year’s acronym.
With heart-driven-action-words in short phrases.
Let them define the desire of who you desire to become.
But as I shared with my client, “That’s just the beginning.”
You can wait until the first of the year to begin this progress, but like my client, you may be eager to get started immediately.
(My friend in AA. “One of things sponsors like to do is start new members on the 12 steps as soon as possible. Why? Because every addict has flopped from one “change the world” project or job or dream to another their whole life. The steps are the super structure for lasting change and the truth of their WORDS become our power to change our lives day by day!)
Make YOUR WORD a new ritual for beginning your day.
Every morning, while you’re getting ready for your day, speak your word out loud at least a dozen times while moving.
Any movement to get your blood flow going will work.
My client chose to do it to jumping jacks.
I do it dancing.
It’s not just a silly little exercise. We know that with increased blood flow (best achieved with movement), things become deeply grooved into your brains.
You’re never too old or too anything…the science is in! Neuroplasticity is real and works!
YES! … You can change your world!
There’s a part of your brain called the RAS (reticular activating system).
With vigorous movement coupled with loud articulation (our brains only respond to our voice) we can overwrite old, ingrained messaging and set our inner search engines for ways to fulfill what we’re saying out loud.
Another way to look at it is that it sets your new power word on auto pilot.
After saying the word aloud at least a dozen times …
Then keep your movement going …
And read all the words and phrases of your acronu of your power word aloud.
You can do this in 3 to 5 minutes or less.
We only need to devote a short period of time to set our brains to a new and powerful way of going through our days.
Setting your Google search engine to search for ‘Waze’ will help chart the neuro-roads and fulfill what you are proclaiming!
(From my friend in AA. “As you can imagine after years of alcohol abuse…my body was in as bad of a shape as my brain. I committed to one year in the gym…to see if I could ‘actually change’ my physical shape…I knew if I could do that…my brain would lock step with my efforts. I had days I hated it…but slowly I could my feel and see body changing. Long story short…after a year I could do 25 military style pullups at a time and 100 crunches on a 30-degree incline. At age 68, I again had the same 31” waist I had in high school plus a 4-pack … YES we can change our world!)
YOU can change YOUR world!
You really can power your way into 2025.
