It is the New Year and normally people try to jam their year full of resolutions…or at least their January.
I personally find the whole resolution process exhausting. Do I believe they work? Yes. Have I done them in the past? Absolutely. But over time I have felt that the act of creating a list of all the things I want to change about myself and the key areas of my life can be semi-depressing. Plus, every year my high and mighty intentions begin to fade and then I just feel guilty. (Accountability PLEASE!)
So this year I decided to ditch the resolution practice altogether and instead I picked a power word to guide me through the year. Often times our resolutions are motivated by what you should be doing and there is not a lot of power in a should. Think about it: you should make your bed every morning, you should choose a side salad over French fries, you should seek out that dream job…but do you? Does it make a major dent in your life if you don’t?
Picking just one word can be personally transforming because it contains an image and energy or meaning you can strive for. And, it is completely out of the “should realm.” It is a do. Your power word is a simple reminder of your intentions and your actions. It represents the quality you want more of in your current life.
EXPLORE is my personal power word for 2013.
You may ask what that has to do with health and wellness…and I would say a lot.
ex-plore (verb): Travel in or through (an unfamiliar country or area) in order to learn or familiarize oneself with it.
Exploration can be a self-discovery engine. I plan to explore food, fitness, myself. Being an explorer will teach me more about my surroundings from the plate and beyond. It is a word that is so fitting in to my New York City life and yet, so daunting. But I am okay with this. Everyone should be an explorer with their healthy lifestyle.
About 3 months ago I made a personal pact to myself to try one new thing a week. And I can proudly say that I have stuck to it—sometimes doing multiple new things. I really feel like this small weekly challenge has caused me to bring a long laundry lists of things I wished I was doing and make them realities. And there is no stopping there. I am fully embracing being an explorer.
Find a word to be your faithful mantra as you look ahead for the next (now) 355 days. If this is your first time choosing a power word remember to challenge yourself. Be imperfect about it. Your unexpected word can propel you forward and bring new clarity to your life.
Have you ever tried the power word resolution? What would your power word be?
Feature photo via
I would be curious to hear what the little things you are doing every day are…
I think my power word is SUCCESS – I do not feel accomplished if I haven’t been successful everyday. I am not talking big successes, but enough to make me feel as though my day wasn’t completely wasted. Hey sometimes a big success for me is… sweeping my floor, AH HA HA!
I love your power word! Small successes are so important. As for the weekly things I am doing to fit my “explore” mentality: trying new foods/restaurants, cooking new recipes, seeking out new fitness classes, spending more time doing “me” related things, etc.
[…] What is Your Power Word? (via Bite Size Wellness) It’s two weeks into 2013, and I’m sure many of us have already broken our New Year’s resolutions. I really like this idea of a “power word” to guide your decisions and actions for the year, rather than a cliche, easily-abandoned list of goals. […]