Hello Mama!

‘Tis the season for family gatherings, holiday parties, and countless celebrations as we count down to the end of 2019. It’s not only the end of the year, but the end of a decade. Wow, did that just hit you like it did me? We’re about to welcome a brand new decade and I am so excited for what’s to come!

I’m not a fan of making resolutions, but I am all about setting intentions. Every year, I choose a word that helps me to set my one BIG goal. I have been doing this for about seven years now. As I’ve shared this goal-setting practice with my friends, they often ask me, “How do you choose your word?” Honestly, I feel like my word chooses me. Several years ago, I chose the word Joy because it was in the middle of my mom’s Alzheimer’s journey, and I needed reasons to seek joy in the midst of my overwhelming sadness. The following year I chose Fearless and that word led my steps quite literally back onto a theatre stage (something I hadn’t done in decades) and the opportunity to join amazing activists and actors for the infamous Vagina Monologues. It was an amazing experience that taught me so much about sisterhood and speaking up for others. Last year, I chose Abundance and it was all about choosing to claim abundance in all aspects of my life. I also found a lovely necklace with my word for 2019 and it had this message: “I am enough. I have enough. I live with abundance and share it with the world.” I loved that message so much that I put it in my phone to show up every day at 7am to remind me of my goal, my word for the year.

Are you ready to say, “Hello 2020” with your word for the year? Here’s my top 5 list to help you make it a habit for success:

1. Choose your word. Write it down. Save it on your phone to appear at the same time every day. I suggest that you set it as an alarm. My word is saved on my phone for 7am. I usually wake up at 5:30am and it gives me time to read, meditate and then get going for the day.

2. Make your word your mantra for the year. Like I shared, I saved the message about Abundance. I read it out loud every day until I memorized it.

3. Practice Mirror Talk. Not sure what that is? Well, it may seem silly at first, but every morning when you wake up look in the mirror and speak your word to YOU. Speak it as if it has already happened. For example I would say, “I have abundance in health, wealth, and giving back to my community.” What you speak,  it becomes reality.

4. Seek opportunities to share your word with others. I really love the jewelry company that promotes this practice, The Giving Keys (thegivingkeys.com). The business is based on the principle that you choose a key with your word and then when you feel the time is right, you give your key to someone else. I found my key the year that my word was Fearless, and, a couple years ago, I met a person that I just knew in my heart I was meant to give the key to. 

5. Use your word as your metric for staying on track with your goals and intentions. Whatever doesn’t align with your word for the year, doesn’t belong on your calendar. I’m not saying that you stop going to work or give up on feeding your kids or doing laundry (although, I totally feel you if you want to outsource that last one!). What I’m saying is, it’s your word, it’s your year, and it’s your life. 

You get to choose what “makes the list” and what to say, “no, thank you” to in your life. So what will it be? Joy, Fearless, Abundance, or something else? Choose your word and choose to speak it into life in the New Year. Let’s make 2020 the decade that counts!

What’s your word for 2020? Share your comments with me on social media using #hellohappymama