I’ve got a question for you - Do you choose a “Word of the Year?”
You know what I’m talking about - how in December everyone gets really reflective on how the year went.
The highs - the lows - and they set these truly beautiful intentions for the coming year?
What I also love is the process of choosing a “Word of the Year” is that it acts as a north star and guides you back to your goals.
In the past, I’ve chosen words like “Abundance” and “Courage” but this past January I could not think of ANYTHING. NOTHING resonated with me. My mind was a blank space.
Words like “growth,” “focus,” and “intentional” floated around my head, but nothing felt right. Nothing rang true in my core. The best I could come up with in the beginning was the mantra you have heard me say in the past “You start where you start” and “Keep going” and while I LOVE those - it wasn’t my word.
Well - I finally got it. And I can’t wait to share it with you.
In January I knew that this year would be all about growth. It was sometime lsat year that I realized while I love being in HR, as a Chief People Officer, I really missed my core WHY.
You know, the Simon Sinek “What is your why?”
My WHY has always been about helping people. When I was a personal trainer, I helped people live their healthiest lives. We worked towards feeling good about our bodies and on our physical strength. We focused on goals like “being able to run around with my grand kids” and “running marathons.” It was such a fulfilling career, because I was a front row observer and guide in getting people towards their health and fitness goals.
In HR - I was in that same front row seat to help people grow their careers. But one thing I found is that the higher up the corporate ladder you go, the further you are away from the people of the organization. My job was now to guide my team to be able to do all those things, and while that does bring me a really strong sense of accomplishment and feeling good - I missed being in that front row.
That is when I dove into my podcast, executive coaching, and keynote speaking. I am still learning and discovering SO MUCH about myself, and about the business of coaching and keynote speaking, and wow - there is SO MUCH TO LEARN.
And now…. Finally…. I JULY - I have my word.
BECOMING.
Ahhhhh it feels SO GOOD to hold on to this word and use it as my word of the year.
And I love it so much because it means
WhoI want to be… I am now becoming.
I am becoming the best version of myself.
I am becoming more successful every day.
I am becoming more mindful every moment.
I am becoming healthier every day.
I am becoming who I want to be.
I am becoming all that I dream.
Here is what I love about the word BECOMING. It holds this PROFOUND duality that serves as a reminder that we are both enough as we are and capable of continuous growth and transformation.
It is this invitation to acknowledge and honor our present selves while embarking on a transformative journey toward self-improvement. (And Ya’ll know I am someone that always believes we can GROW!)
It celebrates this idea that our lives are not stagnant, but more like a canvas that we can paint our own unique experiences, constantly evolving and expanding and encouraging us to step outside our comfort zones and explore new possibilities - to embrace change.
What I love about BECOMING is that it isn’t about chasing some future version of ourselves - it is about realizing that we are already pretty freaking fantastic. It is this dance between growth and self-acceptance.
Wherever you are in life, YOU are becoming.
And that becoming - it opens up infinite possibilities.
The word becoming feels so EXPANSIVE.
I want to share with you how I practice BECOMING because it isn’t enough to just declare that as my word of the year - I need to live it too. And if this feels right to you - pick one or two of these things to embrace your own becoming!
REFLECTION - Hindsight is a gift we will all have someday, but nothing gives you hard-core evidence like a good moment of self-reflection. You can sit quietly, you can meditate or you can journal, but in these moments, I want you to go back and think about your achievements. I want you to acknowledge your strengths, and look for ways you can still GROW. This practice gives you that evidence to show you how far you have come in your journey and it also helps you stay grounded in your progress.
EMBRACE CURIOSITY & COURAGE - Yep! You know it! You are going to need to be curious about where you can grow and HOW you can grow - and you are going to have to have the COURAGE to do that! Ask yourself questions like “What would my dream life look like?" "What do I need to do to get there?" "Who is in my life?" "What kind of people are NOT in my life?" " What can I do today to get going?" When you cultivate this curious mindset and explore new ideas, you are opening up new avenues for growth that you may have never found possible before! SO be curious! And then be courageous - and
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Yep. that is where the magic happens. Challenge yourself to do something that scares you a little bit. Maybe it's connecting with new people or trying a new hobby - maybe it's signing up for a race! (You knew I had to throw something fitness related at you) Just get outside of your normal routine and do something!
Then I want you to EMBRACE failure. You are not going to hit it out of the park with perfection every single time you try something new. It is impossible. So embrace failure as a stepping stone in your journey of BECOMING. Learn from it. Use it as a step towards growth. Even the most crazy successful people stumble and fall on their faces, but guess what? It is how we get back up that truly defines us.
And then lastly - celebrate every damn step. Even the smallest of wins, the tiniest of milestones and the minuscule moments of growth - CELEBRATE THEM. Each step forward, no matter how small is just that - a step forward. It is one of the thousands and thousands of steps in your journey of becoming.
And remind yourself - you are enough. Just as you are. And you are becoming more.
Remember friend, there is no destination in becoming. It is a lifelong journey and a really fun adventure filled with beautiful surprises, some hard things, but most of all - some truly incredible moments.
So today - I want you to take a moment, to just quietly reflect on who you are today and how far you have become. Because you are enough my friend - just where you are - as you are.
You are enough - but you have a world of infinite possibilities that are available for you to become.
xoxo- Erica
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