Pick your WORD for 2022

It is that time of year when we think about what worked for us over the past year, what did not work, and what we want to focus on for the coming year. Having a WORD for the year is a great way to keep your focus on your North Star.

The North Star has been used by sailors and navigators for centuries. Having a personal North Star is a symbol for personal growth. Your personal North Star will provide direction and serve as a beacon for where you want to go in this next year.

Last year, I chose the word COMMITMENT as my word for 2021. I was committed to producing the Hey, Boomer show with the highest quality of guests and interview questions as possible. I was committed to growing the audience so more people could get inspired by some of the ideas and lessons the guests shared with us. I also wanted to make a commitment to the relationships in my life. I have the word posted on the bulletin board in my office as a constant reminder of the role it is playing in my life this year.

As I worked through the exercise ( see below) to pick my word for 2022, I realized I wanted to chose 2 words. One for Hey, Boomer and one for my personal life.

This year, my words are MASTERY & ACCEPTANCE. What do these words mean for me?

With MASTERY I will have:

• A more productive and efficient social media presence
• An increased audience size resulting in better show sponsors
• Higher quality shows, both live and produced as podcasts
• Increased email list because of better blogs and newsletter
• Increased confidence

With ACCEPTANCE in my personal life, I will have:

• More patience
• I will be more loving
• I will be kinder in my relationships
• A stronger sense of inner peace
• Acceptance of whatever life may bring

I strongly recommend that you take some time to think through all the steps in the exercise below to define your WORD or WORDS for 2022. Do not pick more than two words. You want to say focused.  I would love if you would post a picture of yourself with your Word for 2022 on the Hey, Boomer page. If you need help, let me know and we can setup a time to talk it through.

OK, here are the steps…

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Many people will know right away what word resonates with them, that they want to keep as their North Star for the coming year.  Others need a little help in brainstorming a word that will be meaningful for them.

Below is a list of words for you to review and think about.  You are not limited to these words. These are meant to stimulate your thinking.

It may be tempting to pick more than one word, and while you are brainstorming, I would suggest highlighting the words that seem most important to you.  There are no rights or wrongs during this exercise.  If you can’t narrow it down to just one word, choose no more than three.  But eventually you will want to get down to one (but no more than two) word(s).  If you feel like, over time, you have conquered what you set out to do around the word, that would be the time to change to your next word.

Compassion	Kindness	Patience	Risk	Heal
Delight	Health	Friendship	Gentleness	Order
Generosity	Presence	Fun	Choice	Clarity
Effortless	Acceptance	Grace	Spirit	Pioneer
Wealth	Courage	Laughter	Prayfulness	Peace
Gratitude	Confidence	Love	Power	Laziness
Abundance	Self-love	Expansion	Allow	No
Creativity	Action	Exploration	Artfulness	Yes
Willingness	Forgiveness	Adventure	Attention	Deliberateness
Change	Perseverance	Openness	Beauty	Commitment
Growth	Release	Discipline	Joy	Savor
Freedom	Trust	Awe	Focus	Integrity
Mastery	Knowing	Awareness	Ritual	Listen

Part 1: Clarity – Knowing your Why

1. Write the word or words you are considering for the coming year.
2. Why do you think this is a great word for the coming year? If you chose more than one word, answer for each word. Write down your answer(s). Taking the time to write this down, will slow you down to think about it more carefully. This is what I wrote:

• Mastery will be important as I am working to master the art and business of podcasting and broadcasting, as well as the social media platforms that will help me grow and market the business.
• Acceptance is part of my growth for this year, accepting people (friends and family) where they are and not trying to change them.

3. If you embodied this word daily, what would be different for you in an average day? (write down your answer)

• If I embodied Mastery daily, I would approach all that I am learning with confidence and curiosity.
• If I embodied Acceptance daily, I would be calmer internally and would be more loving externally.

4. How do you already live/embody this word? How do you not already live/embody this word? With complete candor and being vulnerable, this is what I wrote down.

• I struggle with Mastery because I get overwhelmed with all that I am trying to learn. In some ways, pushing myself to learn so much, impacts my ability to practice Acceptance when it seems that others are not pushing themselves in the same way.

5. List 10 things you could create or attract this year if you lived this word daily. (see my list above)

Part 2: Awareness – Know your triggers

1. List 3 specific triggers that might make you “shrink” or “run” from your chosen word. For me the triggers are:

• Overwhelm
• Judgement
• Negative self-talk

2. What obstacles have kept you from living this word until now?

• Mastery has been impeded by self-doubt and overwhelm when it comes to learning so many new terms and ideas and becoming comfortable with all the social media.
• I think what gets in the way of practicing acceptance is my strong independent streak and the belief that others need my help to move through things that seem difficult for them. Acceptance will be taking on more of a belief that others have the answers and ability to move forward in whatever way is best for them.

3. List 5 new habits you might incorporate into your life to live this word (or words) more fully.

• Habit 1: _Focus on one thing at a time. Product Marketing Academy (PMA), Instagram, growing my audience.
• Habit 2: _Celebrate success
• Habit 3: _Recognize negative self-talk and reframe it.
• Habit 4: _Breathe!
• Habit 5: _Learn to take myself lightly.

Part 3: Vision – Know your dreams

1. List 3-5 goals – big or small – you’d like to accomplish this year, based on the word(s) you are choosing. (make these SMART goals, if possible)

One	Two	Three	Four	Five
1500 followers on FB, IG and podcast downloads by end of 2022	Two long-term sponsors by summer of 2022	Grow my email list to 2000 subscribers by end of 2022	Practice shifting my attention from what I cannot change or control. I will focus on what I can control.	Do all I can to achieve the success I want, and then let go of the outcome. Know that I will be ok however things turn out.

2. What would be a “home run” for this coming year? This can be a big dream, an amount of money, a way that you live each day. Write as detailed as you can.

• A home run for me would be to have grown the Hey, Boomer followers and email subscribers to over 4000. It is not just so that I have large enough numbers to get sponsors to help pay the bills. I want to reach as many people who are struggling with what to do after retirement, as possible. I want to get Boomers excited and energized about this next phase of life. I want to provide the content, the guests and the inspiration that makes the show important in people’s lives, and in turn they want to share what they have learned and are learning, with others.
• Another home run would be to have the show picked up by NPR or iHeart Radio so we can reach a larger audience.

3. Choose your Word(s)!