A Brief History of My Yearly Word

 

2020 Adaptability – This was the year I decided resolutions were not working well for me. There are two past resolutions that I managed to keep as part of my life. The first was in 1991 when I stopped smoking. The second was years later when I resolved to be thankful everyday for my life with Joe Coehlo. It ended up that I chose this word in December 2019. I rolled this word out to the management team in January 2020. At the time I had no idea of the impact COVID-19 on our lives. This word helped me to roll with the punches.

2021 Grace – After a tumultuous year of COVID-19 restrictions, this word felt appropriate. The emotional struggles because of isolation seemed to weigh heavy on people. Offense was often taken where none was meant. People were emotionally raw from fear of sickness and paranoia was rampant. I knew I had to find a way to let others feel what they felt and respect where they were emotionally and not take any of it personally. Part way through this year I recognized I had not given myself grace. Upon reflection, I knew the best way to honor myself was to resign from my job before I was no longer able to be the kind of person I wanted to be in the role. And that was okay. I wanted to go out on a high, So I gave the company a year and a half notice of my intent to retire. And every single day I went to the office to give my very best – no exceptions so that my work story could have a good ending.

2022 Healing – This was the year I was retiring, and I was committed to healing myself and providing a healing environment for workmates, family, and friends. COVID-19 restrictions were lifting and there was healing work to be done! My personal goal was physical and mental healing.  Some of this healing meant I had to let go of relationships in the workplace that could not be healed. It also meant I needed to recognize some people are more interested in staying in the misery they create through their own actions.

2023 Transformation – My work life began with babysitting for neighbors at age 12, I graduated to restaurant work at age fifteen. Over the years the longest I was without a paying job was the year (2001-2002) we lived in Maadi, Egypt. There I did quite a bit of volunteer work. I knew that not “working for a living” was going to be a big adjustment for me and wanted it to be a positive experience. Having the word transformation in front of me always helped me to understand that this phase of my life would also be a journey with lessons to learn.

2024 Joy! – Choosing this word means I want to be living in a place of thankfulness and gratitude. Each day I want to remind myself to look for joy around me. Joy could be a turn of phrase that someone uses that delights me. It could be a note from a friend. Seeing someone’s eyes light up when they experience their own joy. I recognize that when people are living with depression or anxiety, living in poverty or wealth, they may not be capable of appreciating the joy around us. That’s okay. I have found practicing who I want to be, helps me be the person I want to be.