Hi,
I'm Irene.
Welcome to this guided reflection and intention setting.
Today I will guide you through a process where you will discover and choose a word that then will assist as your guiding compass throughout the year.
This is not the same as setting a goal.
The word will be a support in cultivating a way of thinking,
Feeling and being.
Something you want to amplify and cultivate.
Who do you want to be this year?
What behavior or personality trait do you want to bring out?
And how do you want to feel?
Your chosen word can guide you in various aspects of life.
For example,
How you prioritize,
What you say yes to,
What you say no to,
How you take care of yourself and others,
And so on.
As an example,
My word last year was action.
This came out of a period of stagnation and overthinking,
Which resulted in me not doing much.
The word action helped me to get out of a thinking pattern that did not serve me very well.
I will facilitate you through this process of finding a word that feels right and strong for you.
To come up with your word,
It helps to reflect a bit on the past as well as the present.
This includes experiences,
Behaviors,
Needs and emotions.
To follow along this session,
You need some time,
A paper and a pen.
To prepare your mental space,
It can feel good to take a big,
Deep,
Cleansing breath before we get started.
Begin by closing your eyes and take a big,
Cleansing breath.
Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale out with a sigh.
Let's do one more.
Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale out with a sigh.
Great.
Let's begin.
Bring your pen and paper in front of you.
Start by writing down past year as the first headline.
And underneath that headline,
You write the word good.
I'm now going to give you three minutes to reflect and think about some good experiences,
Behaviors,
Actions and choices you've made the past year.
Don't try to come up with perfect sentences or worry if you can't think of anything at all.
We are just getting started here and it is the activation and the reflection that matters.
So I'm going to repeat the question and then music will play for the next three minutes while you write your thoughts down.
What are some good experiences,
Behaviors,
Actions and choices you've made the past year?
So the next step is to reflect on the other side of that question.
You will get another three minutes for this.
What are some less good experiences,
Behaviors,
Actions and choices you've made the past year?
Great.
Maybe you are already starting to feel or think about connections between words and actions here.
And in the next question,
You will get the opportunity to bring these thoughts further.
For the next three minutes,
I want you to think about emotions and behaviors you don't want to bring with you this coming year.
This could be anything,
But for example,
Negativity,
Comparing yourself to others,
Wrong priorities,
Not setting boundaries,
Etc.
Only you know what will work for you.
So now that you know what you don't want to bring with you,
You also need to figure out what you want more of this coming year.
The next question is,
What are some emotions and behaviors you want more of this coming year?
And you will have three minutes to think about this as well.
You've come quite far and maybe you are now starting to see a red thread or a theme here.
So far,
You've been reflecting on the past year,
Good experiences,
Actions and choices,
And less good experiences,
Actions and choices.
Emotions and behaviors that you don't want to bring with you and emotions and behaviors that you want more of.
And usually,
These are responding to the experiences and choices.
You don't need to write this theme down.
Just look down at your paper and observe your thoughts.
The next question is a question that comes down to values and maybe a support and balancing act when choosing your word.
You also want to consider what is important to you as a human being.
So take the next three minutes to think about your personal traits,
Values and qualities that you think are important.
This could be for example,
Honesty,
Playfulness,
Curiosity.
In this next step,
You're going to think about your needs.
What this question does is that a need comes with an underlying action word.
And that may be helpful when you put it all together later.
A need can be for example,
A job,
A sense of progress,
Friends,
Etc.
So take the next one and a half minutes to think about three things that you need in your life right now.
So now that you've done some reflection on the past,
As well as the present,
It's time to tie it all together and pick a word.
Just remember that this word should be positive.
To do this,
The first thing you will do is to take a look at what you've written down to get inspired and then do a word dump.
I will give you three minutes to do this.
Just write down as many words as possible that resonates and relate to your story.
Some find it helpful to also write an opposite word.
So for example,
If I write action,
The opposite could be laziness or fear.
So I hope that went well.
And now you've come to the hardest part of this session.
And that is to actually choose a word that you will carry with you this year.
And you may want to do this in different ways,
Depending on how many words you've written down.
Maybe you already have a word that you feel strongest connection to.
Then maybe you should pick that one.
I myself like to put numbers behind the word.
So for example,
10 behind the word I connect the least to.
And one with the word I connect the most to.
And number one will then be my word of the year.
So take some time and think about this.
And once you have your word,
I really encourage you to define it.
So for example,
If your word is courage,
Write down what this means to you.
And I also encourage you to put it in a sentence.
This could be,
For example,
I will show up with courage and not be afraid to show who I truly am.
Another thing you can do is to write a little mind map.
So if you write your word in the middle of the paper,
You can add synonyms and opposites.
So there you see things you definitely don't want to bring with you or act like.
And other ways to see your word.
And that is it for today.
I really hope you enjoyed this session and that you come back for many more.
Thank you.
