New Year New Word 2020!

It’s a new year!
There are new adventures waiting for you!

I like to think of a theme to guide my year (which you know if you’ve been following me for a while).

Do you pick a theme or a word for the year?  It’s becoming more and more popular in the business world, but I think it applies wonderfully to parents and families, too.  I love hearing from parents I work with about the word they chose and why.  Sometimes families choose a word together. Some of the family words I have recently heard are Connected, Love, Family First, Together, Intentional, Purposeful, and Authentic.

Choosing a word or a theme for the year can help provide focus and direction for you as a parent. This, in turn, can help your family.  What do you want to bring into your life?  What do you want to focus on to help provide direction for you as a parent?

Last year, due to a milestone birthday, I chose the theme and the word “Celebrate!”  Similar to years past, I had some ups and some downs and some upside downs.  However, I focused on finding things to celebrate.  This became easier as the year went on and I enjoyed it so much, I’m keeping that word again for this year. 

I have a daughter who will be graduating high school (GULP!) so we will have lots of things to celebrate.  I need to remember to focus on celebrating instead of the hole in my heart if she chooses to go to an out of state school or takes a gap year in a different country.  Both wonderful things to celebrate just hard to swallow as a mom!

Since I do like to start the new year with something fresh, I’m double-dipping and adding the word “Triumph” for 2020.   

Dictionary.com defines triumph as:

1. The act, fact, or condition of being victorious
2. A significant success or noteworthy achievement, instance, or occasion of victory

I picked the word Triumph instead of victory because to me victory had a connotation of competition and beating someone else at something.  Yes, I am aware that victory appears in the definition of triumph.  I think of Triumph as something an individual can achieve by doing something on their own. This could be attempting to celebrate more often or maybe yelling at your child less often. Yelling less comes with the bonus that you both benefit from that!

Keep It Fresh!

If you choose a word to help you clarify your decisions and the actions you take, post it around your house so you don’t lose focus.  Write it on a sticky note on your bathroom mirror so you see it first thing in the morning. Create an art version of your word.  A fun family activity could be to paint your word on rocks to display around your house.  You might also consider finding a way to include it on your screen saver.  Keep these reminders up so your word doesn’t fall by the wayside after a few weeks. You could even move them around your home/office to keep the idea fresh.

Did you, or will you choose a word for 2020?  Hit reply below and let me know what it is!

With my focus on Triumph, here’s my New Year’s wish for you. I wish for you to triumph by spending more time in “Positive Parent” mode and less time in the “Help! Things are out of control!” or “I didn’t sign up for this!” mode.  When you’ve spent any amount of time in one of these last modes and finally come out, you should feel triumphant. You might feel a little wiped out, but coming out the other end is a great reason to celebrate!

Stay tuned. Exciting things are coming to help you celebrate and triumph in 2020. I can’t wait to share them with you!