Why a Theme of the Year May Serve You Better than a Word of the Year

It seems experts everywhere are recommending you pick a ‘Word of the Year’. Yet, consider that a ‘Theme of the Year’ may serve you better. Want to know why?

• Many people struggle to pick just one word, then worry that the word they picked may not be the ‘right’ one.
• One word can be too limiting or one-dimensional.
• One word may not address the shadow side or wholistic view of what you truly need to live that one word.

Flashback to Dec 15, 2015 to see what I mean:

I decided my word of the year for 2016 would be SOAR.

I love the word soar. It had expansive emotion and an uplifting energy – like an eagle soaring. I could see it, feel it and taste it.

Except, one big problem:

Dec 20th:  Five days after choosing ‘soar’, I soared alright… down my garage steps and broke my foot.

That’s when I realized something about one word of the year. It didn’t address what I really needed. My mind was often ahead of my body. I needed to be grounded with my feet underneath me. To truly soar, what I needed was strength and support.

So, as I sat week after week with my leg elevated and foot on ice, a new direction emerged. Instead of a word of the year, I developed a theme of the year:

The strength and support to soar.

This theme served me so well through 2016. I rebuilt strength in my foot (thanks Jenn D Yoga and my whole wellness team) and I built support in my business team.)

Indeed, particularly by the end of the year, I felt I was back soaring again.

This year, my theme is different (although I seriously could pick the same theme again and it would serve me very well!)

My theme is:

Protect sacred profits + leverage to millions.

Each word in this theme has deep meaning and direction.

Sacred – to bring in the sacred to my every day; making my work and life one sacred journey

Protect Profits – I was going to choose ‘expand profits’ but my body said no. Maybe I’ll check in mid-year to see if I can make that switch. The point is to not just create income but create wealth, because wealth is what gives us freedom. And for many entrepreneurs that means protecting profits, so there isn’t a money-in, money-out pattern.

Leverage – this is about leveraging my time and expanding my reach to more people. I love my private clients and will likely always serve a handful. But if your model is always one-to-one, you can limit your reach and income potential. Hence the word ‘leverage’.

Millions – this speaks to the reach and the income that are possible on the horizon. It forces me to think bigger than what I’ve created in the past.

Putting it altogether creates very interesting strategic planning. It guides my decisions, goals and planning.

Here is another example:

One entrepreneur I coached recently wanted to fuel her creative side more, so at first she choose CREATIVITY as her word of the year. Two weeks into the year though, she realized that her creativity alone is NOT going to help her grow her business because she has so many ideas and gets lost pursuing them.

“What if your theme is Creative Focus?” I offered. “This has you putting supportive boundaries around your creativity and choosing one creative idea to focus on at a time — all the way through to the money flow.”

[ctt template=”1″ link=”odh3s” via=”yes” ]”The only profitable ideas are the ones you implement.” @paulaonysko[/ctt]

She loved that and is already noticing a difference with her new theme.

Did you choose a word, a phrase or a theme?

I’d love to hear. There is no right or wrong choice – it’s whatever works to inspire you forward in living your ultimate vision. If you’re stuck and want help choosing, my Year-in-Review Workbook has a section at the end to explore words.

Be sure that whatever you choose, it feels wholistic in not only addressing the profound, juicy emotive word(s), but also the very practical path. That’s when you know you have something with legs.

Click here to get your copy of the Year-In-Review Workbook. 

Supporting Your Abundant Success,

Paula