Selecting a word of the year is a powerful habit that allows you to focus in on your vision for your life. New Year's resolutions come and go very quickly. In fact, you're more likely to break your resolutions before the end of January than you are to sustain them all year. Picking a word to live by for 365 days keeps your focus on one North Star, the guiding light, your center point, throughout all the highs and lows of the year.
This year, my 2019 word of the year was Snow Globe. More on that here.
2019 was one of the most challenging years in many ways, as we lived through health crises, my grandma aging, kids changing, our marriage's first year, financial highs and lows, and many other private matters. Yet, through it all, I remained focused on the globe. My prayers were centered around sending waves of protection to my family and friends in all areas of the world. My heart was focused on drawing a clear line of what I will allow in my life—creating boundaries—and removing what does not serve me. This is likely what added to the challenge of the year. Having a standard of living for yourself is no easy task. You must walk the walk, be consistent, learn how to show up for yourself no matter the circumstances, and be ok with letting go of things you love.
My prayers were centered around sending waves of protection to my family and friends in all areas of the world. My heart was focused on drawing a clear line of what I will allow in my life—creating boundaries—and removing what does not serve me.
My top 10 takeaways of 2019's year of Snow Globe:
1. Embrace all seasons of life
There are sunny days and gloomy days, yet without the rain, snow, cold temps and unfavorable conditions we would not appreciate the good days as much. This is true for weather patterns and for the seasons of life when you're drowning or thriving.
2. Go to church as a family
When you center your family around God, everything is possible. The habits we teach our children about how to show up every Sunday will stay with them forever. And, the moments I cherish most are holding my husbands hand, seeing our kids sing christian songs, and hearing a message that lifts us up, brings us together and gives us purpose. For me, this is the meaning of life.
3. Be careful who you let into your snow globe
You are as great as your five closest friends in your life. You must surround yourself only with the people that deserve a place in your snow globe. Make new friends, and be brave enough to remove the people that bring you down. One of my favorite passages in the bible is "protect your heart for it's the wellspring of your life." To me, that means keep your heart in a snow globe and be careful who or what you allow into your life.
4. Broken people are who God uses to carry His light
During challenging days, moments or years, remember that God uses broken people to tell His message of triumph and victory. When your issues overwhelm you, shift your focus to believe that the battle you're facing is meant to help you. Picture a duck on a pond. If he gets into a fight with another duck, he simply flaps his wings, lets the water roll off his back and all is well on the pond again. When I felt broken this year, I would think like a duck, and shake a snow globe (I have one in every room of the house) and start over!
5. Life will shake you, so hold on tight, and let the dust settle
Life will shake you harder than you will ever imagine. When your constants in life become shaky, and it feels so overwhelming, remember to breathe—the dust will always settle. Your world will eventually stop spinning, and you'll be smarter, stronger and wiser on the other side.
6. Stop complaining about the weather, people or circumstances
One of the worst habits human's have is gossip, comparison, complaining and bad-mouthing. We must learn to speak joy over your life, situations and people instead of complaining. If you change your expectations for appreciation, your whole world will change.
7. The MAGIC of a snow day is unlike anything else
Just like the feeling of Christmas morning, JOY beams from every snow flake as they dance throughout the sky. As they accumulate and you begin to ask yourself "will there be school/work tomorrow?", your heart starts to come alive. Snow days ground us. They keep us home, they bring families and neighbors together, and make us feel like kids again.
8. The best brands (and people) learn how to thrive in the winter
Some of the best brands in the world were started in a recession, or in barren months, when the majority of companies fear closures. Think: IBM, General Motors, Disney, Burger King, Microsoft, CNN, Apple. The leaders of these brands possessed great bravery to launch in a recession. When the human spirit is developed, tested and tried in the winter months, this simply means you have big things coming in spring! Knowing that you have the capability to not just survive down times in your life, but thrive in them is so exciting.
9. You are an individual—just like a snow flake—and you must own your own shape in this world
Do not worry about being like any one else. EVER. It's a trap. "Keeping up with the Jone's" was around long before social media took over the world's comparison chart, and it has never been my thing. Do your own thing in life. The more "you" you are, the more you're living out God's purpose. And, when you do your own thing, it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing because you're happy with who you are. Be a snow flake—unique, authentic and cool.
10. The seeds planted in winter come to life in a beautiful way each spring
Whatever work you are doing now, you will reap the rewards come spring. Be intentional about how to you spend your time and what seeds you are planting. Be mindful of what habits don't serve you, how you can cut back financially to increase your savings in 90 days, or what books you can read to enhance your life.
Each year in the fall I begin to prepare my heart for a new season of life in the New Year. I start the selection process for my new word of the year, and spend a lot of time reflecting on my life, goals, dreams and ideas. I can't wait to share my 2020 word and learn how it will keep me focused on God, family, health and happiness in the year to come.
If you're curious about the word of the year concept, stay tuned for tips on how to pick your word for 2020, and how to dramatically improve your quality of life.
Until then, I'll just be living in my snow globe for the next few days!
xo
Brooke