Trying something new in 2016
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Going into 2016, I knew that I wanted this year to be even better than 2015. Last year was filled with some amazing experiences (wedding planning, getting married, launching my workbook) and some not-so-great experiences (an ER visit days before my wedding and my paternal grandma passing away). I attribute most of my 2015 success to planning and writing my tasks in my Simplified Planner (fantastic paper planner created by Emily Ley). Up until last year, I was using numerous apps for productivity and found that NONE of them actually helped me get stuff done or track my progress efficiently.
So I thought...What could I do differently this year that I didn’t do last year?
The answer I landed on was using an intentional goal setting and planning product created by Lara Casey called Powersheets.
I purchased Powersheets and Lara Casey’s book Make it Happen last year. Her book fired me up about making goals happen but I didn’t really use the Powersheets. Why didn’t I use them? I’ll answer that in more detail in another post but the short answer is: the format wasn’t a good fit for me.
After that experience, you would think that I would steer clear of Powersheets. Why buy something a second time if you didn’t use it the first time? Well towards the end of last year, Lara Casey and her team released a spiral-bound workbook form of Powersheets. I love spiral-bound notebooks. This version was also 12 months instead of a 6-month loose-sheet paper pack. Another plus the sticker pack. Stickers make everything better. Besides the formatting changes, I was reading her blog more frequently last year and gained a better understanding of how I could use Powersheets to set and achieve my goals.
One component of Powersheets that I paid particular attention to was choosing my word for the year. When you think of your yearly goals, you try to integrate your word with each goal. I’m familiar with the concept of selecting a word to align your goals and activities with. I first heard about this when reading some scrapbooking and Project Life blogs. A prominent scrapbooker and memory keeper, Ali Edwards created the “one little word” (OLW) movement. The idea is that you select one word that you will focus on for the year. I’ve seen quite a few people tweeting or blogging about their OLWs. I wasn’t sure what word to choose and felt pressured to select a good word.
After praying and completing some of the exercises in the Powersheets and Lara’s goal setting series (highly recommend reading this series), I landed on a word that I wanted to focus on this year.
During the planning exercises of the Powersheets, I was dealing with an unfortunate circumstance. My paternal grandmother passed away suddenly. I travelled to Ohio to attend her funeral and spend time with my family that live there. Throughout my time in Ohio legacy kept popping up. From her old journals, photos and scrapbooks that I discovered in the home she and my grandpa shared to the kinds words of family friends who spoke highly of the impact my grandma had on their lives, the legacy she left behind was loud and clear.
I was a little scared to choose this word. It sounded too big and overwhelming. I considered trying to think of some other word and didn’t fully commit to legacy being my word of 2016. It wasn’t until I heard a podcast interview with John Lee Dumas that I realized I didn’t want to run from this word.
JLD spoke about his Freedom Journal Kickstarter on a few of the podcasts that I listen to. He is the host of the popular podcast, Entrepreneur on Fire, a daily show where he interviews entrepreneurs. During one of the interviews, I listened to JLD talked about leaving a legacy. I felt like John was talking directly to me and at that moment I knew that legacy was the word for me.
This word has made me think deeply about the goals I’ve set for this year. I never thought that selecting a word for the year would make such a difference. Have you selected a word for 2016? If so, let me know what your word is and why you chose it in the comments below.