The PowerSheets Facebook Group is a wonderful place for inspiration and encouragement for friends as they dig into their PowerSheets. I recently saw a thread of comments from someone in the group feeling overwhelmed about how to choose a word of the year and asking for advice!
I completely understand the overwhelm-even though it isn’t necessary! It often feels like there is a lot of pressure to choose the “perfect” word for your year, but I wanted to offer a pep talk and some advice that has been helpful to me, personally, to anyone who is feeling paralyzed by the choice!
Remind yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. The PowerSheets process is not about doing everything perfectly; it’s about discovering the perfect goals for you in this season. The same is true for your word of the year! If you start to feel overwhelmed, remind yourself that this isn’t traditional goal-setting. This is grace-filled goal-setting, and there is plenty of room for you to get messy and change your mind!
Read through your Prep Work with a fresh set of eyes. Go back to page one of your PowerSheets (yes, page one!) and start from the beginning! Take a highlighter or colored pencil and start circling or underlining any themes that you see! (That’s how Lara discovered her unexpected word for 2017!) When you look at all you’ve written so far, what word keeps popping up in your mind? Ask yourself what one word most resonates with you for the year ahead, pulling together all that you want to make happen?
Brain dump. Once you’ve read through your Prep Work again, find an empty page in your PowerSheets and start brainstorming a list of words you think could work, even if they aren’t exactly right! Writing it down will get all your ideas on paper and give you a chance to see them all at once!
Open a dictionary and thesaurus. Take your brainstorm list and use an old-fashioned dictionary/thesaurus to start researching your words! Look at the definition of each word, it’s origin, and synonyms and antonyms. You may be amazed at what you discover!
Choose a word (or a few!) Don’t box yourself into only choosing one word if multiple words or a phrase resonate with you. There is no word limit on this portion, so choose something that resonates with you!
Write your word down! Whether it’s written on your Word of the Year Card or a post-it notes, write it down, and put it somewhere you’ll see it every single day! It can go on your desk, on your bathroom mirror, or in your car, just make sure that you are being reminded of what you are focusing on for the next season!
Give yourself permission to change your mind! One of the greatest things about the PowerSheets process is how we’ve built in opportunities for you to reflect and redirect your goals every three months! In the Goal Refresh section, you can choose a new word or phrase to focus on in the next three months. You don’t have to wait until three months to change your mind. Grab a post-it note or an old-fashioned bottle of white-out and add your new word over the old one! Progress, not perfection, friends!
Have you chosen your word for 2017? If so, leave it in the comments and let us know! We can’t wait to see what you’re focusing on in this next season!
