A couple years ago, I was invited to speak at a conference where the hosts encouraged the attendees to name their year.
The purpose was to give the year a name that would inspire and motivate them for the next 52 weeks. When they were finished, people were encouraged to go to the stage and tell the others what name they had given for their year.
As I considered what the others were doing, I was inspired.
I decided to name my year as well. But what could I name it?
Maybe it should be the year I got in shape, or the 20-pound year where I lost 20 pounds (the more that I thought about this I gave into the fact that focusing on 20 pounds would encourage me to eat more).
Perhaps it should be the year of the bucket list where I knocked a couple things off my bucket list. But then the thought of skydiving killed that idea.
Perhaps I should name it the year of the pig after the Chinese New Year: I would have more ham and pork, eat more bacon.
I would dig in the garden and root around for more business. However, I thought of the pile of laundry that would get bigger, the messes I would get into would probably be large, and after a few weeks without a shower, I would probably smell like a pig.
Not a good idea.
A couple of years ago I thought that a good name for my year would be the year of awe and wonder. As I wrote my words down I knew that I was on to something. I contemplated the words awe and wonder. I turned them over in my mind. I thought of all the possibilities that a year of awe and wonder would entail. I wanted to be awestruck and revisit that sense of wonder that children have. I also wanted to be an awesome and wonderful husband, father, friend, son, boss, partner and business coach. I wanted to appreciate all that would be awesome during the year.
The year in fact was full of wonder and awe. Things happened that I couldn't even imagine and as I looked at them through the lens of awe and wonder, my perspective was changed.
Events that perhaps I would have looked at as being negative were contemplated and then seen as perhaps wonderful... if not awesome. I didn't react as fast to the first impression of trouble as discouraging, but challenged myself to see the awe and wonder in discomfort.
As the conference ended, people flocked to the stage and announced the year of love, or healing, prosperity, laughter, happiness, family, positivity, mental health and even the year of money. Their intention was to live their word each and every day of the year. I went home and taped my words awe and wonder to my computer screen so that I could see it each and every day of the year.
Last year I gave my year a different name. 2018 was named the year of blessings. I wanted to be a blessing and count my blessings, and blessed I was.
I realize now that naming your year can make a huge difference in how you look at things. I wish that I had started this practice years ago. It's not that life would have turned out differently, but perhaps I would have looked at things with a new focus. We only have a limited number of years in our lives and breaking them down into time frames of intention could make all the difference not only to your business but more importantly, to your life. I am going to try it again this year and I encourage you to do the same.
What will you name your year? What words will you use in that name that will inspire and motivate you for the next 52 weeks? Email me and tell me, because I would love to hear what you come up with.
Dave Fuller, MBA, business strategist and coach is the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy and loves to hear what people name their year. Email him at dave@profityourselfhealthy.com.
