what’s your word for 2012?


Happy New Year!  If you are like me, you awoke today with a feeling of possibility.  It’s a whole new year.  What in the world might happen?  While the year will have surprises for you that you could never have imagined, it is also very malleable, and it can be manipulated with your intention (and follow-up action).  While my annual birthday list really qualifies as my resolution project, I do like to start the year by naming my intention and capturing my vision for the 365 days ahead of me.  Today, let’s talk about naming our intention.  

What is an intention?  It’s a desire to act in a certain way, a resolve.  And I believe that every year should have a flavor to it– a flavor fueled by intention rather than accident.  I capture my intention for the year by choosing a word to describe how I want to act, the way I want to be during that year.  Past words for my years have included voice, peace, wellness, expansiveness.

As I start to consider my word for the new year, I reflect on the year that has just passed.  In what ways did I experience joy, synchronicity, authenticity.  In what ways did those things elude me?  In what ways was I my best self?  In what ways did I miss the boat?  All of those reflections aren’t done in a critical way– they simply offer me information for me to build and grow from in the new year.  Reflection isn’t about beating yourself down.  It’s about giving yourself the information you need to build yourself up and offer more of your gifts to the world (keep in mind that you are a necessary part of the world\’s healing and so getting yourself aligned is part of healing the world). That’s what having another day is about– one more chance to try and do things more authentically, more purposefully, more passionately while experiencing joy, love, and possibility.  

After I’ve reflected on my past year, I start to hone in on words that resonate with me, that might actually capture what I want from this next year.  I try those words on for a few days, see if one might particularly summarize what I am feeling about this new year.  Usually, one really bubbles up.  The one year, in recent memory, that I forced a word and didn’t wait for it to really come to me clearly, I didn’t quite capture the right intention (not that there is really a way to get this wrong, just that there is a difference between forcing a word and receiving a word as guidance for your year).  

This year’s choice came to me in November and though I’ve pondered other words, this one just keeps making itself known so I am trusting my subconscious to know my truth and that truth is that my intention for 2012 is:     

whole·heart·ed   adj. \ˈhōl-ˈhär-təd\

Definition of WHOLEHEARTED
1: completely and sincerely devoted, determined, or enthusiastic <a wholehearted student of social problems>
2: marked by complete earnest commitment : free from all reserve or hesitation <gave the proposal wholeheartedapproval>
— whole·heart·ed·ly adverb
Related to WHOLEHEARTED
Synonyms: heartywhole-souled
While the definition for wholehearted is important, what might be even more important to me is the antonym.  One reason why wholehearted really resonates with me is because it is so rooted in being authentic.  Too often, I do things to be nice or helpful and while I value being nice and helpful, doing things just to be nice or helpful means I end up not doing them well and doing them authentically, and that doesn’t do anyone any good.  Yes, I do some things out of a sense of responsibility (the laundry, the insurance paperwork for Circle de Luz, tax paperwork) and so they don’t make me authentically happy but the experience behind those responsibilities- having a family that brings me joy, being partnered with such amazing women in an effort to empower really amazing, inspiring young Latinas to choose futures of their own imaginings, and being employed in a way that allows me to give my gifts to the world- do make me authentically happy and so doing that less satisfying work makes the satisfying part possible.  What I don’t want for 2012 is me doing things in a half-hearted, tepid, grudging, lukewarm way.  And I want to create enough time and space in my life to really savor the days rather than run to the next responsibility that I’ve taken on in order to JUST be nice or helpful.
That said, there is the gorgeousness of what being wholehearted means: being all in, completely absorbed and engaged, lost in what I am doing, empowered and unafraid to be who I am, game and bright-eyed, receptive, enthusiastic and energetic.  Focusing my intention on that much happy and real just speaks to me– it’s why I couldn’t shake wholehearted when it found me and it is why I can’t wait to see where begin wholehearted will take me.  So here we go, 2012, me and my whole heart are ready for the ride.
Now, it is your turn.  What is your word for 2012?  I can’t wait to hear what you’ve chosen for your year and your intention behind it.  With just that simple claiming (and sharing) of a word, you don’t just inspire yourself, you inspire all of us, too, and there may be no better combination than inspiration and intention.
Want some guidance on how to choose your word, check out this post with a few pointers or, if you are local to the Charlotte, NC area, join me for visionSPARK on January 6th or January 14th (registration will soon close)
Related Posts with Thumbnails

8 responses to “what’s your word for 2012?”

  1. Madeleine

    What a great word…and hey, wasn’t that Anna of Curvy Yoga’s word for 2011? 🙂

  2. Hannah

    Hey Rosie, that’s so cool that the word “wholehearted” came to you over and over again through your subconscious! That’s amazing! I love that word, too, actually, and I think about it a lot in terms of my ED recovery. I’m leaning towards thinking of a word or a verb to align myself with this year instead of a laundry list of resolutions I won’t accomplish anyway, haha.

  3. Jamie

    If you haven’t already seen this video by Brene Brown. It is 20 minutes WELL WORTH spending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0

    Goes right along with your word, which is an awesome word, and authenticity is my word….a bit similar!

  4. KCLAnderson (Karen)

    I was THISCLOSE to choosing the very same word Rosie! But in the end, I went with PRACTICE 🙂 And I second Jamie’s recommendation of anything and everything Brene Brown!

Leave a Reply

CommentLuv badge