Hello there and welcome to my 77^th blog.

I am sure you all know that each year towards the end of December it has become a tradition for some wordsmiths to choose one word that sums up the shared experiences of the previous year. This German tradition Wort des Jahres was started in 1971. I love this idea, and some of the words are really cool.

Anyway, I digress.  Let’s get back to the reason for this blog. My year started  with great aplomb. Goals pondered over, deliberated and finally written in a journal, I think perhaps for the very first time, and it all seemed super dandy, beyond organized and so very positive..

Until this week, that is. There were a couple of social engagements and a night of poor sleep, and it all just seemed to go totally pear… and it’s only the third week of the year. This made me think and ponder about these resolutions that we all get overexcited about at the beginning of each year. Some podcasts and  a bit of reading later, and I have some fresh and novel  ideas about all these so-called good intentions.

I chanced upon Anna Dearmon Kornick, an American Time Management Coach and found her insights extremely interesting. Anna is not really that into making New Year resolutions as for the most part she believes that no one seems to be able to maintain them. She has another way of maintaining focus and achieving those goals.

Don’t you often feel that often you are pulled in so many directions? I certainly do. My patients at the retirement homes, the management of my home, my blogs, my ongoing nutrition studying, taking care of Rich and the boys (though they are all so easy, so this is a breeze), seeing that my Mum is managing, and that Pops is okay, and it seems to go on and on and on, not to mention eating for health, exercising daily, and pursuing my never-ending projects. Then there is the distraction of emails, text messages, Facebook, and Instagram. It can be overwhelming to say the very least.

With so much going on, I do struggle to keep consistent focus. Also, most of my big goals require time, and it seems the longer something takes, the easier it is for me to get distracted and thrown off course.

This is where the awesome Anna comes in. She believes that by choosing a word of the year at the start of the year, you can remain focused even if you have not set goals for the year. It is so very simple. It’s kind of like having a theme to fall back on when life feels confusing, and if I am being honest, it seems to me that life is consistently confusing and has been for a while and will probably continue to be so for a very long time.

Your word for the year may help with decision making. If you are faced with a dilemma, you can ask yourself, does this make me grow? Does this help me build? Does this add balance? Grow, build or balance could be your word of the year.

I have become that person who has worn busy as my badge of honour for the last couple of years. I am so over this, and I am pretty sure if I speak to my nearest and dearest, and they are hundred percent honest with me, they will agree.

Also, I have become a little manic and OTT about doing stuff all the time as I mentioned above. Be it researching for my blogs, studying material for my practice, preparing interesting salads or creating eating plans for folk, I just seem not to be able to stop. It’s not cool and often not that helpful, as I get bogged down, very anxious and I most definitely lose focus..

These are two small examples where my chosen word of the year could be very powerful. The word needs to encapsulate all that I hope to experience, do, achieve, and feel in 2022.

The word of the year is not a quote or Bible verse. Both of theses are extremely useful to help with focus and intention. However, a word of the year apparently zones in and narrows down your focus to a single word, which definitely seems a lot easier.

My word of the year is also not one of my core values. My personal core values encompass my foundational beliefs, which then dictate my behaviour and guide me to make the decisions I do. They are feelings and beliefs that operate in the background of my mind, and they influence my behaviour.  Perhaps a chat about this in another blog may be in order.

Whilst deciding on my word of the year, I realized that it was important for me to instantly picture myself living the word in ways that apply to my life. I must just know what it means to me, not what the word represents to anyone else. I could choose the same word as my friend, but it could mean something very different to each of us.

My word came quite easily to me. That is also the thing. One must not overthink it. Furthermore, if  my word no longer serves me during the year, I can change it to one that does.

Having chosen my word of the year, I plan to keep it visible in my space. I will put it on a sticky note and place it on my bathroom mirror, my bedroom mirror, on my diary and probably on my laptop. This is so I can be reminded of it often and constantly.

So, are you all dying to hear what I have chosen as my word for 2022? Drum rolls in the background. One can hear a pin drop. My word of the year for this year, chosen with intention, is Breathe. It is a word that resonates with me in so many varied ways and came so easily to me..

1. I will think of my breathing when the idiot driver cuts in front of me on the highway. Instead of a host of hectic expletives pouring out of my mouth, the calibre of which would make a hardened sailor blush, and then gesticulating madly, I could just concentrate on my inhale and exhale and perhaps even learn to tame my tongue.
2. When I am about to shoot from the hip and say something that will irritate or upset my boys, I could rather do some belly breathing.
3. As my patience wears thin whilst waiting for someone to do something, I could inhale with intention and exhale quietly.
4. When I am feeling insecure and am tempted to do or say something to make me feel better, and mostly to make others feel worse, I can just take ten beautiful breaths, and perhaps let it all go.
5. On waking at two am for no rhyme or reason and battling to resume my nightly zzz I could place my hand on my belly and just feel the rise and fall of it as I breathe.
6. I can breathe with intent while I enjoy my vitamin D uptake whilst enjoying the sunshine.
7. My consistent worrying about so very much may be halted and put in a box if I rather just concentrate on the rhythm of my breaths.
8. Whilst on my ongoing mission to get fitter and stronger, it is vital that I use my breathing to help keep me remain focused when the going gets tough.
9. When I am sad and down, instead of defaulting to my usual woe is me, I can spend some time on breathing with intention and focus and feel the sadness ebbing away.
10. When a perplexing problem or difficulty arises, I can take a moment to breathe and then go back to the situation feeling more oxygenated and better able to manage the situation and calm the farm down..
11. When the busyness starts to get to me, I will stop, breathe, regroup, and continue on my merry way.
12. As I consider my goals, I will not beat myself up over not achieving them, I will rather breathe and reassess them and, if necessary, realign them to my life.
13. My consistent breathing may assist me in striving towards my optimal health and wellness.

So, maybe you will decide on your word for 2022. If you do, I would love to hear what it is.

I am so excited to experience this year with my word of the year.

Wishing you all a wonderful rest of weekend.

We will chat soon.