Have You Set Your Personal GPS?
Here is an easy way to SET it and FORGET it.
Are you meandering through your life?
There is power in a word. For about the last seven years, I have picked a word or two word phrase as my own personal directional GPS. And it is powerful in many ways. Each year I spend time picking a word or phrase that resonates with me and with my goals for the year. It is my path, my direction.
We are all met with multitudes of choices each day, some big and some small. Having a simple mantra allows me to quickly run each choice through the filter of my word and frequently makes the decision clear. This year my phrase is “Magical Joy”.
Coming off a year of massive disruption in routine thanks to the pandemic, I want a year of joy. I know that our lives will never be the same in some ways after last year, but I am full of hope that this is a year of bringing us all back together in person and in hopes and visions for the future. The stats on anxiety and depression were staggering before the pandemic, and by all reports last year just amplified that.
But as an eternal optimist, I feel that if enough of us work to envision the world we want, we can make it so. Science tells us that what we focus on, grows. This is my year to focus on JOY. And I added the word “magical” because it gives it more juice and feeling. There is magic all around us when we look for it.
It can be found in the fragility of flowers breaking through the soil in the spring and emerging into bursts of color. It is in watching my grand babies explore and interact and laugh with abandon. It is in building deeper relationships with family and friends, something I have worked to focus on even with the limitations of the last year.
It is like the song in Sound Of Music, My Favorite Things. It is raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. It is doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles. It is a drop of golden sun, And so much more. We race through each day checking the boxes and often take no time to notice the little things. My sense of “magical joy” is to be more intentional to do that. It is also to intertwine my family, work, relationships, and play in such a way that joy abounds. Yesterday I got to play Pickleball with my kids! That combined two of my joys.
So, how can you find your word/words of intent for the year. Here are some suggestions. Shine, abundance, ease, purpose, gratitude, appreciation, authentic, free, flourishing, flexible, harmony, health, infinite, thriving, spacious, radiant, inspiring, adventure, balance, easy, love/loving, flowing. Or you can pick a thing that represents what you intend like butterfly, dove, waterfall, tulip, hyacinth, hummingbird, elephant, or wave.
I like to add descriptors to my word and some of the above can be a descriptor too. Some ideas include radiant health, flowing abundance, harmonious balance, miraculous flow, loving kindness, free flowing, infinite love, infinite joy, joyfully adventurous, loving connections. There are endless possibilities.
Sometimes one of these just hits me all of a sudden and sometimes I try different ones on for a day or two to see how it feels. Give it a whirl! There is a site, myintent.org, which has inexpensive bracelets with intent words on them. They have section that will help you find your word or words.
I would love to hear your word or words and how you like having your own personal mantra, GPS system, for the year.
Stay tuned for an exciting announcement for the paid subscribers starting soon!
Betsy Smith
Certified Happy For No Reason trainer and coach
Betsyrsmith@mac.com
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