Word Of The Year For 2023 - BUILD
“A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her.” (original quote, from the male perspective, by David Brinkley)
It’s that time once again to choose a focus word for the new year - one single word that will motivate and inspire you every day as you keep it in the front of your mind, on both good days and challenging days, to help you have the best year possible.
But first, I will revisit my word for 2022: Thrive. There are many ways in which I found ways to thrive during this past year, which was quite stressful and challenging on many fronts. I am normally a positive person, and focus on the positive to rise to the challenge. But I have to admit that this was quite a year. I didn’t get as much done on my novel-in-progress as I would have liked because of these challenges, but there were many days that I overcame the stress and persevered, and got more writing done with this book. My focus word helped me concentrate on those days to make progress. I did finally get out of retail work in November, and find the job that’s right for me...one that pays much better, with a wonderful supervisor and great coworkers, better hours, benefits, that gives me a generous amount of time off and works around my travels, concerts, and adventures. And no more working holidays! I also can organize my time better to build my writing career and get more done. My son and I share our love of travel and adventure with each other, and he went to Ireland this past summer for an internship. I got to travel quite a bit more this past year as well...more cities and concerts, music and time with friends. So we are moving past just surviving, into thriving.
This brings me to my word for 2023: BUILD. The quote at the beginning of this was originally said by David Brinkley from the male point of view - but the adapted version resonates with me. It has applied for a long time...but especially this past year, when a majority of the time I had bricks coming at me from so many directions in so many areas of my life, that I felt I might need to wear a hard hat 24 hours a day - maybe even a suit of armor. Some of the aforementioned challenges accounted for a good portion of this, while some very fake, two-faced people also contributed. I will not name names in either case...that would be throwing the bricks back at them - and I’m using those bricks for my foundation, which will help me rise above the negativity and soar. I will continue to BUILD upon all of the joyful things from the past year...the travel, concerts, and adventures, the new job with all of its benefits, thoughtful conversations and good times with my son, BUILDing my book and writing career to a new level, the magic, and the friendships, inspiration, and encouragement from the kind, genuine people in my life who bring the light. I am so grateful for those who are true friends. My health is improving, especially with being out of retail, and I am starting to lose weight again...so I will build upon that. I am looking forward to NYC, Michigan, and Tuscany...and many more trips to come as well. I will BUILD upon the joy and light, and share that joy and light wherever I can. We could all use more of that!
Have you chosen a focus word for 2023? I would love to hear what your word is! Here’s to an incredibly wonderful and amazing year ahead for all of us!
